A New Yorker name Colleen first shared her experience Tuesday evening (11/16), and it quickly amassed over 1 million views. Tons of commenters chimed in on if they believed it was authentic or not, and past examples of Banksy legitimately selling artwork in this way.
To sum it up: on her way home from the west side to the east, at the 8th Ave subway station, she saw someone selling art pieces in Banksy’s signature style. He was wearing a ski mask, so his identity was a mystery…
She continued home but had a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach and decided to stop at an ATM and then go back (he was only accepting cash or Bitcoin, which is apparently also a signature move). She went back and bought two pieces, and said the joy and excitement she felt from the whole experience meant just as much as if they actually were real Banksys! She did not believe Banksy was the person actually selling, but rather someone that works with him or was hired by him.
Hear her tell the story in her own words here:
https://www.tiktok.com/@colalex/video/7031391863668051205?_d=secCgwIARCbDRjEFSACKAESPgo8yQfTFgSQ8Wr%2BM2rtMdwn37BHiaGeM18lIBMgMkXKSXUVWR%2FqKd81TyZ12DCLOxyTDugml7p0r05jqwWKGgA%3D&language=es&preview_pb=0&sec_user_id=MS4wLjABAAAAjW5ev0GM8nOAjnOpBueVQUmkDH2LHFPibR4yFH17b6mqxchtg9Z1rWhaLUypH7Vc&share_app_id=1233&share_item_id=7031391863668051205&share_link_id=a38f0bfc-0c0a-4610-a07e-65b819191786&source=h5_m×tamp=1637173334&u_code=dbldfj08i685ak&user_id=6814109629988832261&utm_campaign=client_share&utm_medium=android&utm_source=copy&_r=1&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Later, social media users tagged her in the below Instagram post, and she said this setup was quite similar to what she saw:
Other users commented they had seen the same thing, and were mad they had walked right past it! Something similar apparently happened in NYC back in 2013:
Someone on Twitter also saw a similar set-up in Union Square earlier this month:
https://twitter.com/nickwaplington/status/1457118656991727618
And she went back to the same spot today (Nov. 17), but there was nothing to be found…
@colalex
She has even created a longer nine-part series of videos of her experience in more detail, which you can view on her TikTok @colalex here.
So what do you think??
Either way, the mystery is half of the fun!