Banksy is today a household name, and his art and stunts attract intense media coverage and endless debates in all circles of society. The prevailing question dogging him, however, is not about his art, but something much more basic - who is Banksy? How can someone so provocative, and who stirs up so much emotion manage to stay so hidden? 

Bansky’s identity has always been equally as fascinating as the art he (or she or they) has produced. Over the years, multiple journalists claim to have publically unmasked the artist, some even going so far as to engage criminologists to do so. In this era characterised by mass surveillance and the death of privacy the cloud of anonymity shrouding the artist is a fascinating achievement. Aurélia Rouvier and Seamus Haley present several of these theories, each as convincing as and as different from the last. The inquiry leads us on a winding journey all over the world and into the weirdest corners of his oeuvre until you ultimately understand that with Banksy it's never just about an artwork, or indeed the artist, but about the story. Do we even want to know? —Frederic Boyer

Aurélia Rouvier and Seamus Haley