Banksy – a street artist whose personal identity today in 2015 remains unknown in the public eye – is believed to have been born in Bristol, England around 1974. Banksy began his career as a graffiti artist in the early 1990s in Bristol’s graffiti gang DryBreadZ Crew. 

Although his early work was largely freehand, Banksy used stencils on occasion. In the late 1990s he began using stencils, reportedly in order to increase the speed of his work, decreasing his exposure to arrest with increasing CCTV coverage and increasing arrests of graffiti artists. His work became more prolific around Bristol and in London, as his signature style developed, by 2001 the majority of the busy streets in London had at least one of his signature rats. Banksy, by virtue of both the quality and quantity of his graffiti, became sensationally famous, seen by many as a modern day anti-establishment masked hero.

BANKSY’S ARTWORK IS CHARACTERIZED BY BOLD HIGH CONTRAST IMAGES, REFERENCING CONTEMPORARY MEDIA CULTURE AND ICONOGRAPHY, OFTEN IMPOSING AN IRONIC TWIST ON A FAMILIAR IMAGE REPRESENTING HIS TARGETED SUBJECT, OFTEN COMBINED WITH SLOGANS, TYPICALLY ENGAGING POLITICAL THEMES – SATIRICALLY HIGHLIGHTING THE EVIDENT HYPOCRISY OF POSTMODERN WAR, CAPITALISM AND GREED.

COMMON ICONIC THEMES INCLUDE RATS, APES, VANDALISM, POLICEMEN, SOLDIERS, EXPENSIVE ARTWORKS, WAR AND WEAPONS, MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY, AND CHILDREN. 

In addition to his two-dimensional work, Banksy is known for his controversial installation artworks, often on the theme of animal cruelty and involving live animals. Banksy’s worldwide fame has blurred the line between vandalism and high art. Often stolen originally illegally-painted pieces of street sell for high-art prices in international auction houses. Mainstream interest in Banksy further increased with the release of the 2010 documentary feature, Exit Through the Gift Shop in collaboration with artist Mr Brainwash, who has also featured in the London Westbank Gallery’s solo shows and group collection. Premiering at the  Sundance Film Festival, the film was nominated for an Academy Award. Urban in Ibiza has a great collection of his original works, all supplied with Pest Control COAs