Banksy Finally ‘Unmasked’ After Years-Long Investigation – The Hook news

March 18, 2026 by Marouan

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Within days, that north London mural became part of the identity speculation too. After the artwork was vandalised, protective measures were installed around it, including clear covering, fencing and later further shielding organised by the property owner and local authorities. A photograph taken during that period showed a grey-haired man standing close to the work, leading some online users and tabloids to suggest that Banksy might have been caught on camera while checking on the piece or helping oversee efforts to preserve it. In light of Reuters’ latest report naming Gunningham, that image has been recirculated again as supposed visual support for the claim.

But the man in that photograph publicly denied he was Banksy. He was later identified in multiple reports as George Georgiou, a 67-year-old builder and the father of Alex Georgiou, the landlord of the building on which the mural appeared. He said he had been there to help install perspex protection around the artwork after it had been damaged. According to those reports, he dismissed the speculation as “nonsense” and said people should simply have asked who he was instead of photographing him and assuming he was the artist. He also said he knew nothing about the mural before it appeared.