Is this the face of the UK’s most famous graffiti artist? (After sagittal inversion and colour enhancement to make him fit into his own artwork.)
A reader tip-off led us to an article on Complex.com, purporting to show elusive artist Banksy. The Bristol-born wall sprayer is very protective of his identity, and spoke to The New Yorker this week about the difficulties of remaining anonymous.
So is he finally unmasked?
The snaps were allegedly taken in Jamaica three years ago. A thirty-something man is surrounded by the accoutrements of the stencil artist; in other shots, he stares at a series of Banksy rats on a gallery wall.
According to Complex.com, the images were published in the Evening Standard in 2004 – and no one has referred to them since.
Three possibilities:
1. Back in 2004, Banksy was not quite the household name he is today, so everyone just forgot.
2. No one ever reads the Evening Standard.
3. This is all a hoax and the scan of the Standard on Complex.com is a mock-up.
Questions need to be asked. Not least, how did John Lennon and Quentin Tarantino manage to spawn a love child?
