There’s an occult sensation behind the anonymous. Something about the covert nature of anonymity comes with an intoxicating air of mystery, one seemingly impenetrable. With the advent of the ‘social-media stalk’, rendering any ‘mystery’ an obsolete concept, anonymity becomes all the more coveted. 

The past few weeks have seen a resurgence of the anonymous, albeit for much different purposes; whether the Anonymous decentralized hacktivist movement, anonymous messaging platforms for coordinating protests, or even the ‘cover all identifying information when protesting’ reminders, anonymity has become an invention of necessity.

Perhaps one of the most influential anonymous figures (a paradox) of the twenty-first century—without an actual name—is Banksy. The artist has continually produced artwork commenting on social and cultural norms, garnering quite the reputation. Yet his work does not rest on any spray-painted laurels; rather, it constantly reinvents itself, as amorphous as ongoing times. 

Just a few days ago, Banksy produced a piece of art inspired by the murder of George Floyd (and countless others), and the protests which have ensued. As he states on Instagram (@Banksy), “At first I thought I should just shut up and listen to black people about this issue. But why would I do that? It’s not their problem. It’s mine.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Banksy (@banksy) on Jun 6, 2020 at 3:30am PDT

The work depicts a virgil, with a candle setting an American flag aflame. “People of colour are being failed by the system. The white system,” Banksy continues. “Like a broken pipe flooding the apartment of the people living downstairs. This faulty system is making their life a misery, but it’s not their job to fix it. They can’t – no-one will let them in the apartment upstairs.”

“This is a white problem and if white people don’t fix it, someone will have to come upstairs and kick the door in.”