BANKSY is known internationally as an iconic graffiti artist, but his identity is a well-kept secret.
Is the Gorillaz artist Jamie Hewlett the real Banksy? Here’s what we know.
Who is Jamie Hewlett?
Jamie Hewlett was born in 1968 in Wales but was brought up in Horsham, where he was a pupil at Tanbridge House School.
An art fanatic at school, Jamie made a name for himself in 1988 when he created Tank Girl, a hit comic strip in Deadline magazine.
Jamie came up with the idea for Tank Girl while at art school at Northbrook College Worthing, West Sussex.
When Deadline magazine closed in 1996, Jamie switched his focus to television design.
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Jamie then moved into a flat with Blur front-man Damon Albarn in west London.
The pair came up with the idea for the virtual band Gorillaz in 1998— Albarn would work on the music and Jamie would cover the artwork.
The Gorillaz's first EP was released in 2000, ahead of their first album ‘Gorillaz’ in 2001.
The album was nominated for a Mercury Prize, but the band asked for the nomination to be withdrawn.
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Their second album, Demon Days, was released in 2005 and was a critical and commercial hit.
In 2006, Jamie and Gorillaz bandmate Albarn won an Ivor Novello Award for songwriting.
Jamie married French actress Emma de Caunes in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in the south of France in 2011.
The couple live together in Paris with de Caunes’ daughter from a previous relationship, Nina.
Jamie has two children, Denholm and Rocky, with his ex Jane Oliver.
Is Jamie Hewlett Banksy?
Banksy’s identity has been kept secret since the early 90s.
Rumours suggesting Jamie may be the graffiti artist began to circulate in 2018 when Metro reported that an anonymous ‘forensic expert’ allegedly linked Jamie to every company associated with Banksy.
The source told Metro: “I really believe it could be Jamie Hewlett. Or at least he seems to own all things Banksy.”
Banksy’s publicist denied that Jamie was Banksy.
In March 2023 a new Banksy-style artwork appeared in Horsham, Jamie’s hometown, of a ballerina with her hands on her hips looking down at some Wellington boots.
Banksy has confirmed artworks all around the UK, such in Bristol and Margate in Kent.
Possible ‘Banksy rats’ have previously been spotted in Horsham.
Banksy created the artwork for Blur’s 2003 album Think Tank.
Other people are rumoured to be Banksy, like Bristol-born Robin Gunningham.
In 2008, a picture of a man in Jamaica emerged who was allegedly Banksy.
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The man in the photograph was Robin Gunningham, the Mail on Sunday revealed.
Gunningham is said to have begun graffiti art as a teenager and started out under the pseudonym Robin Banks, which evolved into Banksy.
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