Who is Banksy?

Hey everyone,

Another Banksy piece was discovered at a primary school in Bristol earlier this week, and it got me thinking about the true identity of Banksy.

I have done a bit of 'research' (a five minute Google search), and have come to my own conclusion as to who Banksy is. I'll put it in a spoiler so I don't alter anyone's own ideas.

Spoiler

Personally, I think Banksy is not one person, but a whole group of people.This would explain how Banksy pieces have shown up all over the world, how Dismaland was orchestrated without Banksy being discovered, and how Banksy hasn't been outed by anyone who has 'seen' him (we'll say him for ease; everyone assumes it's a guy anyway).

If Banksy were not one person, but a group of say, seven individuals living in various places around the world, then accounts of people meeting Banksy wouldn't line up with each other, which would bring into question each person's individual account of who the artist is. There could be a Banksy in New York, a Banksy in London, a Banksy in Bristol, a Banksy in LA, and a Banksy in Ontario, whose physical appearances would vary massively. This could explain a number of pieces in various places in Israel and London.

My interpretation of the geographic profiling method to find that Robin Gunningham is the real Banksy, based on my belief that Banksy is a brand and not an individual: the Banksy group has expected that geographic profiling would be used to reveal Banksy's identity, so they have used Gunningham as a red herring. Gunningham's flight and travel records could easily be released and checked where he's travelled/flown to around the time a piece has popped up somewhere, and if I were a journalist, this would be one of the first things I'd do, provided I found a way. These records haven't been released, or no one has thought of doing this, either, so it can't be proved that Gunningham is Banksy just because he's from Bristol and has houses in London. It's not as if Banksy isn't a high profile criminal either, so any government could do this, especially Israel with the stuff found there. Robert Gunningham has neither confirmed nor denied that he is Banksy, and neither has his wife.

The theory that Banksy is a group of people could explain some of his artwork, too. For example, Old Skool, in London, features four different people of varying physical appearances. These could be representations of the different faces - or rather, not faces - of the Banksy brand. My favourite piece, Banksy's real name is, features those four words written on a wall, with a splatter of blood where the name would be, and the outline of a dead body like you'd see at a crime scene, indicating that the writer of this has been shot in the head. I see this as one member of the group has wanted to come forward and tell the world, but another member has created this piece as a metaphor of what would happen if they were to do this. Maybe not literal death, but figurative death at least. Even if it were literal, no one would know. After all, they're not Banksy, not one single person is.

Who/what do you think Banksy is?

Thanks for any replies.