Banksy returns — again
A new black mural of a girl just appeared on Waterloo Bridge — critics call it a Spartan return to Banksy’s public‑space stenciling (newindianexpress.com). Reuters coverage this week pushed claims about Banksy’s real name, reigniting debate even as immersive shows riffing on his work open — Mayfield Depot’s “The Mystery of Banksy – A Genius Mind” includes pieces by patients from The Christie NHS Foundation Trust (arkansasonline.com) (tamesidecorrespondent.co.uk).
The New Indian Express ran its write‑up on March 29, 2026, placing the Waterloo Bridge arrival in a wider column about Banksy’s recent public pieces. (newindianexpress.com) (newindianexpress.com) Reuters published a year‑long investigation on March 13, 2026 that named Robin Gunningham — later said to have taken the alias David Jones — and anchored that identification in a 2000 New York arrest record and reporting linked to murals in Ukraine. (independent.co.uk) (independent.co.uk) Reporting noted that the Reuters team drew on US court records and contemporaneous police documents as central evidence for the claim that Gunningham is Banksy. (rte.ie) (rte.ie) Legal representatives and several commentators pushed back within days, with Banksy’s lawyers disputing the unmasking and academics questioning both the ethics of identification and whether the new evidence conclusively ties one man to decades of street work. (telegraph.co.uk) (telegraph.co.uk) The immersive show The Mystery of Banksy – A Genius Mind opened at Depot Mayfield in Manchester on March 13, 2026, presenting more than 200 reimagined and reproduced works rather than original Banksy murals. (themysteryofbanksy.com) (themysteryofbanksy.com) The Christie NHS Foundation Trust confirmed that selected artworks by its patients are on display at the Manchester exhibition through a partnership with The Christie Charity aimed at raising funds for a new diagnostic scanner. (christie.nhs.uk) (christie.nhs.uk) Organizers list the Manchester run through early July 2026 — the show’s UK dates run from March 13 to July 5, 2026 — a timing that has coincided with renewed public debate over attribution, anonymity and how commercial exhibitions handle the legacy of street artists. (manchestersfinest.com) (manchestersfinest.com)
