Who cares about his identity?
If you’re a Wu-Tang fan, you remember when Ghostface Killah first started rhyming, when he wore a stocking over his face in all photos. It was awesome. People who are self-proclaimed mysteries succeed immediately in making fans who would normally care little about their background start to obsessively wonder about them. But you have to give Banksy credit: any time in the past couple of years, he could have sold a big reveal of his identity to the highest bidder for a huge sum. The idea that he’s staying secret out of fear of prosecution for vandalism is a little ridiculous; this is a guy who started as a vandal, but now has museums and town councils voting to keep his (illegal) works in place—sometimes even having city employees go back and touch up his pieces when they get painted over with more graffiti. He’s probably just a guy who doesn’t care to be treated like a superstar in public. The irony is that, by staying anonymous, he’s pushed interest in himself up to mythical levels.
