London, England — The elusive graffiti artist, political activist, film director, painter and long time fugitive that for years has gone by the pseudonymous name of Banksy, was arrested early this morning by London’s Metropolitan Police. After hours of questioning and a raid of his London art studio, his true name and identity have finally been revealed.
The City of London Police say Banksy’s real name is Paul Horner, a 35-year old male born in Liverpool, England. The BBC has confirmed this information with Banky’s PR agent Jo Brooks along with Pest Control, a website that acts as a handling service on behalf of the artist.
London Police Chief Lyndon Edwards held a press conference to answer questions about Banksy and how Horner was finally apprehended after all these years on the run.
“We had a 24-hour Anti-Graffiti Task Force monitoring different groups where Banksy was known to frequent. We received word that around 2am a group of individuals left a flat speculated to be one of Banky’s art studios. This group was followed by agents and once vandalism had occurred, we then arrested the group, 5 men total. These individuals all had ID on them except for one, and that is the one we believed to be Banksy,” Edwards said. “We then raided the studio where this group was last seen leaving from. Inside we found thousands of dollars of counterfeit money along with future projects of vandalism. We also found a passport and ID of a Paul Horner who matched the description of the man that we are currently holding.” Edwards continued, “Horner is currently being held without bail on charges of vandalism, conspiracy, racketeering and counterfeiting. We are also holding the other four individuals whose names we are not releasing at this time.”
Horner was arrested by London Police in Watford, a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about 17 miles northwest of central London.
The graffiti artist that goes by the name Space Invader told reporters he does not agree with the arrest or outing of Banksy’s identity.
“He’s just doing art, spreading joy and making political statements the best way he knows how. That is what he was doing and I hope that is what he’ll continue to do,” Invader said. “For the London Police to setup some 24-hour task force just to catch Banksy is ridiculous. I hope we hear plenty of noise from the good tax-paying citizens of London about this.”
After today’s arrest it is unclear who else will be sought in connection with Banksy’s arrest. CNN spoke with John Hawes who is a project manager for Banksy says he is worried that charges could be brought against him also.
“If they spent this many man-hours and brought this many charges against Banksy, I can’t imagine that he’ll be the only one to go down in all of this,” Hawes said. “All the beauty Paul Horner brought to this world, unfortunately the London Police just see it as vandalism and want to lock him up. It’s such a shame.”
Banksy, AKA Paul Horner, seen here being taken into police custody.(AP Photo/Dennis System, File) / AP
Banksy’s identity was long speculated to be Robin Gunningham, a man born in Bristol, England in 1973. Known for his contempt for the government in labeling graffiti as vandalism, Banksy displays his art on public walls and even goes as far as to build physical prop pieces. He does not sell his work directly; however, art auctioneers have been known to attempt to sell his street art on location and leave the problem of its removal in the hands of the winning bidder.
Police apprehended the famous street artist while in the middle of finishing a piece about a mascot for a Christian organization named Fappy The Anti-Masturbation Dolphin.
“I’m just happy to be a part of this whole thing,” Fappy told CNN. “I’m not familiar with this Banksy character, honestly if it’s not in the Bible I probably haven’t heard of it, but if this arrest spreads awareness of the harmful effects of self-rape, then that is a good thing. Hopefully news of this ordeal will bring the much needed attention to the dangers and consequences of playing with your sin stick or ringing the Devil’s doorbell. Hopefully, God willing, one day, masturbation will be illegal and people will finally be free of playing on the Devil’s playground.”
Banksy’s take on Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic Pulp Fiction was well known in the area and amongst collectors of his work. Transport for London ordered it to be painted over because of their strict policy against graffiti. (AP Photo/Dennis System, File) / AP
Local resident 27-year old Matthew Williams told reporters he was disgusted when he heard news of the arrest.
“What a waste of taxpayers money. Wouldn’t it be better spent fighting the war against drugs or violence ? What harm has this man done except produce beautiful thought provoking artwork? The counterfeit money thing has either been planted or its part if his art and not actual real counterfeit cash.” Williams continued, “This is just another move by the Five-Oh to crush anything good and free. People need to work out what side they’re on and if they’re on the side of beauty and freedom, they need to start fighting back. There are simply not enough heroes like Banksy to do it for you. I hope this blows up in the cops’ faces and the rest of the government as well.”
One Of The More Memorable Quotes By Banksy“People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.
F*ck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.
You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.”
Police confiscated this image from Horner’s residence which was seen in the Oscar winning documentary, “Exit Through The Gift Shop”. Up until today, the face had always been blacked out.(AP Photo/Dennis System, File) / AP
In 2011, Banksy was a no-show to accept his Oscar for his documentary Exit The Gift Shop, though his artwork was seen all over Hollywood in days leading up to the awards.
As soon as news of the arrest was made, the City of London Police say they began receiving dozens of phone calls from people either claiming to be Banksy, or claiming to be with him. As of 6 PM London time, hundreds of people were gathered outside the London Police Department chanting “I’m Banksy!” and holding signs demanding his release. Various local news stations have reported witnessing the crowd parting for a blind woman who attempted to turn herself into authorities claiming that she was in fact the real Banksy.
Horner was born in Liverpool is a city in Merseyside, England, on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. Horner is currently being held without bail on charges of graffiti, public vandalism, criminal mischief, public indecency, resisting arrest, money laundering, criminal conspiracy and racketeering. More charges may follow. For anyone with more information on criminal charges that could be used against Horner, London working alongside the United States have setup a 24-hour hotline at (785) 273-0325.
- See more at: http://nationalreport.net/banksy-arrested-identity-revealed/#sthash.XjnH2m6K.dpuf
A mugshot taken by London Police today of Paul Horner AKA Banksy. (AP Photo/Dennis System, File) / AP
동영상 뉴스는 이걸로 볼수있어- See more at: http://nationalreport.net/banksy-arrested-identity-revealed/#sthash.BD63tJlI.dpuf기자 Darius Rubics 메일은 없었어
아직 한글기사가 안나온거같아서 영어를 긁어와봤어 ㅠㅠ뱅크시가 현재 체포되었대! 저 사진은 뱅크시 머그샷이래!리버풀출신의 35살 남성이고 이름은 Paul Horner라고 하네런던에 24시간으로 그래피티를 감시하는 TF팀이 있는데 그 팀이 뱅크시의 스튜디오도 찾아냈다나봐지금 현재 뱅크시가 잡혀있는 경찰서앞에 수백명의 사람이 모여서 "내가 뱅크시다!!!!!!!!!!! 나 잡아가라!!!!!!!!!"하고 시위하고 전화로도 여러명이 항의하고있대.
원문의 댓글들 보면 "영국이 경찰력을 낭비하고있는것좀봐 존나 병신같네" "아티스트를 범죄자취급하는 병신같은 나라" "경찰들이 이걸 생각했음 좋겠어 : 예술가보다 200%는 더 극악하고 위험한 강간범,살인범들 이 있다고 생각하고, 뱅크시는 그의 목소리를 예술을 통해 표현했을 뿐이야. 사람들이 그걸 즐겁게 받아들였고, 지루한 거리에 색을 입혀줬지. 그사람의 신상을 그렇게 쉽게 스포일했어야만 했던걸까?" "아니면 그에게 세금을 더 매기고, 다른 더 훌륭한 방법으로 예술활동을 하게 할수 있지 않을까?"등 다양한 의견이 나오고 있지만대체적으로는 영국경찰 병신들이 예술가를 체포해서 한낱 범죄자 취급을 하고있다! 고 하는것 같아 ㅋㅋㅋ더 자세히는 번역못해줘서 미안해 ㅠㅠ 나도 보고 놀라서 바로 올리는거라...
가명의 그래피티 아티스트(흔히 예술 테러리스트라고 불려)로 세계적인 명성을 가지고있는 뱅크시는 경찰의 감시를 요리조리 피해 자신의 그래피티를 남겨왔어
"이 세계의 거대한 범죄는 규율을 어기는 것이 아니라, 규율을 따르는 것에 있다.
명령에 따라 폭탄을 투하하고 주민을 학살하는 사람이 곧 거대한 범죄를 저지르는 것이다."
라는 말을 한적이 있는 그는, 비록 불법이지만 전세계의 지지를 받으며 끊임없이 사회의 부조리를 고발하고, 반전과 평화라는 주제를 가지고 활동하는 그래피티 아티스트야.
잡힐줄이야....세상에....
아래는 뱅크시의 작품들!
첫 글이라서 부족한점 있을텐데 말해줭!
+ 정정
슈발 가짜기시랍디다 ㅠㅠㅠ 그럼 저 머그샷은 도대체 누구?!
뱅크시가 안잡힌것에 안도하며 오보를 낸 기사를 매우 비난합시다 쒸발 오밤중에 존나 놀랬네
잘못 쓴 기자 퓰리처기자상 받는다고 오보나서 샤워실에서 수상소감 준비하고 턱시도까지 빌렸는데 아니라고 정정기사나라 ㅠㅜ 슈댕알
첫댓글 헐
뱅크시 그래피티 멋있는뎅...
헐...
삭제된 댓글 입니다.
여시야 전보쳐!!
헐대박헐..
헐.....헐 잡혔어....? 헐.......뱅크시.....
헐 뱅크시
헐대박할
헐 대박이다 정체가 드디어 밝혀짘거임??? 작품들 다 너무 좋쟈나..
워...깜짝이야ㅜㅜ
헐....충격 왜 잡아
헐 진심으로 잡으려고했던거구나....
헐 ??? 뱅크시가??? 안돼 !!! 내가 뱡크시다 !!!! 나잡아가라 !!!!!!!!
헐헐헐.... 나 저중에 직접본거있어
헐..뱅크시가????안돼....
뱅크시가 잡혔다고??? 헐 말도 안돼
와 나 진짜 너무하네ㅡㅡ
헐 뱅크시 !!!!!!!!!!! 미친 왜 잡아가...................
헐 세상에ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅜㅜ놔줘 이 놈들아ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ뱅크시를 왜 잡냐 시버류ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
삭제된 댓글 입니다.
@무도빠 헉..이거 몰랏을듯....
헐 벌써 스크랩해간사람ㅆ을텐데 어캄?! 수정할게! 본문이랑 제목 바꾸면 돼?
헐 뱅크시가 잡히다니...ㄷㄷ
졸라놀랐어.... 뱅크시..