Curses on the Rats Who Exposed Banksy

May your dick look just like Trump’s


Guerrilla artist Banksy finally unmasked — along with the remarkable way he hid in plain sight, by Stuart A. Thompson and Anthony Blair, New York Post, March 15, 2026

The infamous graffiti artist known as Banksy has finally been unmasked — after changing his name to something so generic, he could hide in plain sight..

The notorious guerrilla street artist, whose polarizing works have sold for millions of dollars, was identified as Robin Gunningham, 51, from the English city of Bristol, in a detailed investigation by Reuters on Friday.

The report found that Gunningham changed his name to David Jones — one of the most common British male names — in 2008 to avoid identification. Read the whole article here.

More Banksy coverage here.

Art & Place Conference Keynote, May 2, 2025

I thought I was getting on a flight to Germany to deliver my keynote at the
Art & Place conference in Saarbrücken.

Instead, I wound up giving it via Zoom—from a prison cell.

Not literally, of course. But I dressed for the part. A fitting backdrop for a talk on creative dissent.

Guerrilla theater, unsanctioned public art, protests in disguise—these are the tools I’ve used to question authority and reclaim public space. Sometimes with humor. Sometimes with a bullhorn. Always with intent.

While my prison cell was symbolic, the consequences of challenging power are very real. So, this was a reminder: dissent isn’t just a right. It’s a necessity. And we need to protect the freedom to speak out—especially when it’s uncomfortable.

Thanks to the organizers for inviting me. And to everyone still raising hell where it matters.

Richard Hambleton – RIP

Richard Hambleton, an artist credited with inspiring Banksy, passed away this week from unknown causes just days before his MoMA show and a month before the release of Shadowman, a new film about his life and work. Here’s an article about him from earlier this year.


The epic rise and disgusting flameout of the artist who ruled 80s New York
by Raquel Laneri
New York Post
April 15, 2017

In the early 1980s, a series of shadowy street paintings “” life-size monsters and cowboys “” loomed large over the East Village. Anticipating the works of Banksy by more than a decade, the unsigned figures were created under cover of darkness on buildings and bridges. They weren”t mere graffiti, but painterly works reminiscent of Jackson Pollock. Downtown residents buzzed about who could be behind them.

The art world knew who it was: a soft-spoken Canadian “” often clad in a cravat and sunglasses “” named Richard Hambleton.

At downtown galleries, his mysterious figures fetched thousands of dollars more than work by his friends Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. He attended parties with beautiful women on his arm, and Andy Warhol begged him, in vain, to sit for a portrait.

Hambleton canvased Manhattan with some 450 shadow men “” and managed to get a few on the Berlin Wall, too. But by the 1990s, he was largely forgotten, living in a drug den on the Lower East Side. He was so poor that he would shoot himself up with heroin, then use the blood in his needle as paint. Read more here.

Iranian Street Art Gets the Doc Treatment

Mutiny of Colours is a documentary in progress focusing on some of the higher-profile graffiti artists of Iran. Priscilla Frank at HuffPo profiles 12 of the artists showcased, with plenty of visuals and access to the trailer. Some of the work is satirical. Some is political. All of it arose in a climate uniquely hostile to this sort of expression.

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Hanksy Takes a Trump

Artist “Hanksy” shares his opinion of the front-running GOP candidate:

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Also, check out Hanksy’s recent tour of Detroit and its graffiti:
“Surplus Candy” :: Episode 2 :: DETROIT

Watch the video

via HuffPo