A lot of people sit around discussing the deeper things in life; why are we here? Do we really have souls? What is the meaning on life?
But sod that, who the fuck is Banksy?
When it comes to the infamous anonymous street artist, I often think back The Big Red Machine, Kane. For years he entered the WWE ring wearing a mask, being mysterious. He didn't draw cryptic messages on walls, but in the end, when he was unmasked, it was a bit underwhelming. He was just a big bloke with make up on his face. Somehow, I don't think the eventual revealing of the real identity of Banksy will be as disappointing.
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Many have pondered the true identity of the graffiti artist, with no 100% answer being brought forward. However, now people are now questioning whether Robert '3D' Del Naja, founding member of the band Massive Attack, is the man behind the spray cans.
'Mobile Lovers'. Credit: PA
Craig Williams, a 31-year-old investigative journalist, has been looking into whether Robert is the real Banksy after noticing that a lot of art is coincidentally appearing close to Massive Attack gigs. He's been questioning whether or not the Trip Hop guru is also behind the infamous art, or at least fronting a team responsible for it.
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Robert was reportedly a graffiti artist back in the 1980s and has previously claimed to be a friend of Banksy. Craig Williams found that at least more than 12 murals appeared either before or after Massive Attack gigs in the cities they were in, over the past 12 years.
In the past, there has been speculation that Banksy was actually Bristolian Robin Cunningham, but this has never been proved.
After Banksy's meteoric rise over the last two decades, questions have been asked whether or not one person is creating the stencils, while others paint them around the world. While the artist's popularity grew, so did Massive Attack's.
People are also pondering the identity of urban legend Wanksy
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During his investigation, Williams found that in May 1, 2010, shortly after the band performed two nights in San Francisco, six Banksy murals were reported in the city.
A week later, they played Toronto, Canada, and another Banksy appeared. On the same tour they played in Boston's Chinatown, and, well, you get the picture.
'No Ball Games'. Credit: PA
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Given the global spread of the art, it's plausible that Robert, while touring, has been painting the murals, either as Banksy, or on behalf of Banksy.
"A rumour exists from 2010 that his work that went up around North America was his work but were not necessarily painted by him, but rather by a street team that happened to be following the Massive Attack tour," Williams says. "And on analysis of his North American work, this makes perfect sense."
Given Robert's apparent 'friendship' with Banksy (he's publicly spoken about their friendship and Banksy provides the foreword to a book about Massive Attack), he could be very easily referring to himself.
This weekend Massive Attack are playing a homecoming gig in Bristol. Will we see a Banksy appear in Bristol in the next few days? Of course we fucking will. The evidence is all here.
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Featured image credit: PA