Nick Walker (left) / Banksy (right)
According to a waitress at the newly stenciled Thunder Jackson restaurant, she witnessed someone purpoting to be Banksy painting the wall last night, “the whole thing took him about 15 minutes.” When asked if she was positive it was Banksy, she emphatically stated “yes,” and then awkwardly added, “Banksy is Nick Walker, they are the same person. Oops, I don’t think I was supposed to say that.” When pressed on why Banksy would use different names, she spilled, “He uses that identity because of visa and passport issues.” The waitress added that Banksy is going to make a big announcement about his identity but not while he’s in town, “He has a whole master PR plan, but he’s waiting till he leaves the country.” Of course this sounds like one sordid identity prank but it is interesting to note that Nick Walker sold over $1.5 million worth of his art at a recent solo exhibit in the UK—a trajectory unlike any other street artist besides Banksy, his fellow “spray mate” from Bristol. This stupid mystery continues.
The rumor is true. The elusive self-dubbed “art terrorist” Banksy Nick Walker rolled into NYC and decorated the Sullivan St. facing wall of restaurant Thunder Jackson located on Bleeker in the West Village last night. In addition to three characters of a man walking with an umbrella, he also added a nice drippy “Vandal” and finished it off with his signature “B”NW at the bottom. A waitress from Jackson’s confirmed that it was indeed Banksy, mentioning that he’s friends with one of the guys involved with the bar. She also noted that he was originally scheduled to paint the wall on Wednesday night but someone stole a bunch of his supplies. More photos and some physical evidence after the jump.
UPDATE: It’s a Nick Walker piece, but why is he going around telling people he’s Banksy? Something fishy is going on.
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