James Poore

Professional colourer-inner, Pyrotechnic, Lighting Designer with a fetish for old buildings & a penchant for wire haired fox terriers, sailing, cars & rugby.

[Anish Moonka @anishmoonka]

The man who made that statue has been anonymous for 30 years. He is worth $50 million. One of his paintings shredded itself live at Sotheby's in 2018 and sold three years later for $25 million. Reuters identified him 7 weeks ago. He still won't confirm.

His real name is most likely Robin Gunningham. He was born in Yate, near Bristol, in 1973. He legally changed his name to David Jones around 2008. David Jones is the second most common name for British men. Perfect cover.

He started painting on Bristol walls in the early 1990s. By 2000 he had switched to stencils, which let him work fast and dodge the police. His first famous mural, in 1997, was a teddy bear throwing a Molotov cocktail at three police officers.

A short list of what he has actually done:

In 2003 he walked into Tate Britain disguised as a pensioner and stuck one of his own paintings on the wall. Over the next two years he did the same at the Louvre, the British Museum, MoMA, the Met, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History. His fake stone in the British Museum, showing a caveman pushing a shopping trolley, stayed on display for three days before staff noticed.

In 2005 he painted nine pieces on the Israeli wall in the Palestinian West Bank.

In 2010 he directed Exit Through the Gift Shop, a documentary about street art. It was nominated for an Academy Award.

In 2015 he opened Dismaland, a fake amusement park inside an abandoned English seaside resort. It drew 150,000 visitors and brought £20 million to the local economy.

In 2017 he opened the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem. Every room overlooks the Israeli wall. It still operates.

In October 2018 his painting Girl with Balloon sold at Sotheby's for £1 million. The instant the hammer dropped, the canvas slid out of the frame and shredded itself in front of the buyer. The auction house renamed it Love Is In The Bin. Three years later the same buyer sold the half-shredded canvas at the same auction house for £18.6 million.

In 2020 he painted Game Changer, showing a boy playing with a nurse doll dressed as a superhero. It sold in 2021 for £16.8 million. He gave the entire amount to the NHS.

In 2022 he painted a series of murals across war-damaged Ukraine, including a young judo fighter throwing a much bigger man. According to the Reuters investigation, he travelled there as David Jones.

Last September he painted a judge beating an unarmed protester with a gavel onto the wall of the Royal Courts of Justice in London. It was scrubbed off within hours.

This week he installed the statue in that tweet on a traffic island in Pall Mall. He said there was "a bit of a gap" worth filling.

In March, Reuters identified him as Robin Gunningham. Their evidence: a signed confession from a 2000 New York arrest for defacing a Marc Jacobs billboard, plus immigration records showing a man called David Jones entered Ukraine the day Banksy's Ukraine murals went up.

His lawyer says he has chosen to say nothing.

[James Poore @JamesTPoore]

@RealBobMortimer A year to the day we lost our wonderful Porridge I was saddened to hear that another Tenacious Terrier, Ted has made the final journey to the great dog paddock in the sky, hopefully they’re both up there causing havoc & stealing sticks that are far too big. 🐾❤️

[Stefan Moore ★ @2StefanMoore]

A final piece of advice from Holly Butcher - written the day before she passed away from cancer at just 27:

“It’s a strange thing knowing you’re going to die young.

At 26, I thought I had time…
To fall in love.
Start a family.
Grow old.

But cancer doesn’t care about plans.

Now, I understand how fragile life really is. Every single day is a gift, not a guarantee.

I’m not writing this to scare you. I’m writing to remind you: really live.

Stop stressing over little things. Be kind to your body- move it, nourish it, stop criticizing it. One day you’ll wish you had appreciated it.

Go outside.
Look at the sky.
Feel the sun.
Just be.

Spend less time chasing “stuff” - more time making memories. Don’t skip moments with people you love.

Laugh more.
Write a note.
Tell someone you love them.

Complain less.
Give more.
Helping others brings more joy than anything you can buy.

Be present.
Put your phone down.
Show up - really show up.

You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need a perfect body, or a perfect life.

Just follow what makes your heart light up. Say no to what drains you. Make changes when you need to.

And please - donate blood. I wouldn’t have had that extra year without it. And that year gave me memories I’ll hold close… forever.

Thank you for reading this.
Live your life well.

And maybe… we’ll meet again someday.”

Holly 🩷

Repost & share Holly’s important advice. ❤️

[Farrukh @implausibleblog]

Comedians on the BBC's Have I Got News For You

Spend 4 minutes mocking President Trump

For posting an image of himself as Jesus

#HIGNFY

[Science girl @sciencegirl]

The physics behind a firefighter’s clove hitch knot

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Rome’s most famous keyhole

offers a perfectly framed view of St. Peter’s Basilica, seen through the gardens of the Priory of the Knights of Malta.

[James Poore @JamesTPoore]

@omicrom3111 @Retromania4ever VR6 Campaign

[James Poore @JamesTPoore]

@LesPurves DM all day long

[Rock'n Roll of All @rocknrollofall]

Can you name a better live guitar solo?

You can't.

3-minutes straight goosebumps in every note.

[Chris Packham @ChrisGPackham]

Hey @Crufts #crufts2026 just reminding you we are a nation of dog lovers . Let me know if you want a bag , because top dogging a poor animal with exaggerated features associated with discomfort and pain and a person convicted of animal abuse shows you’ve trodden right in it

[Chris Packham @ChrisGPackham]

Unbelievably dangerous.

[James Poore @JamesTPoore]

@JamesMoir10 Eranu indeed

[Jimmy Carr @jimmycarr]

"It's my first time out after my wife died..."

For more on this topic listen to my appearances on Griefcast with Cariad Lloyd, Where There's A Will There's A Wake and the podcast The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens (Episode: The Forgotten Skills of Dying and Grieving Well).

[James Poore @JamesTPoore]

@AlexJayBrady @joncoupland Is the correct answer

[James Poore @JamesTPoore]

@ipot76 @wadeydarts No burns it’s a cold non pyro effect.

[James Poore @JamesTPoore]

@The_Forty_Four Bit of a bonkers thing to do but these are NOT fireworks they’re a special effect & they do not burn hot like pyros do. He’d have sustained greater injury from punching the table. That said the person setting them off should have killed them the second he put his hand in there!

[All On The Board @allontheboard]

If you’re looking for a sign that you’re not alone and that things will get better, this is that sign.

[James Poore @JamesTPoore]

@OneWayMusicX D A B C

[James Poore @JamesTPoore]

@polgarareturns Amazing Album!

[UK Back in the Day @UKBackintheDay2]

31 years ago…

The Prodigy created one of the best electronic tracks of all time…