Mason Storm

UFO. No, you F O

2021

British artist Mason Storm is known for provocative works that poke fun at the hypocrisies within modern society. In his compositions—which reference canonical paintings by Caravaggio, Johannes Vermeer, and Norman Rockwell—Storm inserts elements from movies, TV, and pop culture to create clever juxtapositions that speak to contemporary issues. Like Banksy, Storm works anonymously, hiding his identity behind a designer balaclava. For years, Storm has fueled rumors that he is one of Banksy’s assistants, even threatening to reveal the mysterious artist’s identity in an apparent promotional stunt in 2010. More recently, Storm released a series of “Monkey Parliament” paintings and sketches that imply that he is the original artist behind the famous Banksy painting Devolved Parliament (2009), which sold for about $12.1 million at auction in 2019. Self-taught, Storm claims to have a background in martial arts, security, and intelligence.