“Soup Cans: Violet Cherry Beige”, 2005, coloured screenprint on paper, Artrust

Who is Banksy?

I don’t know why people are so keen to put the details of their private life in public; they forget that invisibility is a superpower.

Presumably born in Bristol at the beginning of the 1970s, Banksy is regarded as one of the leading representatives of street art. In 2019 he was ranked fourteenth on ArtReview’s list of the one hundred most influential personalities in the art world. Yet no one, apart from his closest friends and collaborators, knows his identity.

What we do know is that he trained in the underground British scene, where he worked with several artists and musicians. We also know that his artistic output began in the late 1990s. From that moment onwards, he started making his presence felt in many cities – from Bristol and London to New York, Jerusalem, and Venice – with graffiti and various performances and incursions.

I have no interest in ever coming out. I figure there are enough self-opinionated assholes trying to get their ugly little faces in front of you as it is.

There are a number of reasons for Banksy’s choice to remain anonymous: the need to elude the police, given his illegal incursions and graffiti; the need to protect himself, given the satirical background of his works touching upon sensitive issues like politics and ethics; and the desire not to compromise the perception of his identity and works,