Apparently Banksy?! Born 1974 in Bristol, England, the illusive Banksy dawned us into a new era of Urban Artwork.

Banksy, despite not calling himself an artist, has been considered by some as the original street artist, often using a combination of his distinctive stencilling technique with an alternative aspect of politics from those promoted by the mainstream media.

Whilst some believe that his stencilled graffiti provides a voice for those living in urban environments that could not otherwise express themselves, and that his work is also something which improves the aesthetic quality of urban surroundings; many others disagree, asserting that his work is simple vandalism.

Due to the shroud of secrecy surrounding his real identity and his subversive character; Banksy has achieved somewhat of a cult following from some of the younger age group within the stencilling community.

Immensely popular throughout London and the UK his subversive images can now be seen daubed on walls throughout the world.

Many Banksy art images have moved off public walls and into private collections in the form of [link type="photo" id="6989980"]limited edition prints[/link]. These often generate large sums at auction houses such as Bonhams and Christies. Even the Banksy works that have remained on walls have been sold at auction, with some being dismantled. A house in Bristol with Banksy art work on the outside was also sold as ‘a work of art with a house attached’ through an estate agent.

He has also attracted great media attention through various stunts aimed at the establishment: from The British Museum & London's Tate Modern to New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Other stunts carried out by Banksy have included painting images on the Palestinian side of the Israeli West Bank barrier.

He also substituted amended versions of Paris Hilton’s CD at several record stores. These CD’s have subsequently become highly collectable.