The fake planning poster

A UNIVERSITY lecturer has owned up to five years of April Fool’s Day pranks in Clerkenwell that included a fake Banksy and a planning notice for a giant bust of Jeremy Corbyn.

Every year since 2021, black wooden hoardings encircling a Victorian-era toilet in the middle of Clerkenwell Green have been at the centre of a mischievous publicity stunt by an anonymous “street artist” whose aliases have included Izzy Lington and Shanksy – a reference to the famous toilet manufacturer Armitage Shanks.

But this week the mysterious prankster revealed his true identity: he is Chris Walker, a marketing and manage­ment lecturer at Westminster University and the organiser of Clerkenwell’s photog­raphy competition.

Mr Walker explained that his annual stunts are an attempt to get an answer from Islington Council on what they’re going to do about the “huge, ugly” hoardings that have been there since 2019, “spoiling” Clerkenwell Green.

Writing on his blog, Mr Walker said: “I’ve contacted the council many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many times through the proper channels over the last six years but have never received a response.

“I’ve contacted around 20 different members of Islington Council, and recently thought I was making progress when I actually managed to speak to someone.

“They said they couldn’t put anything in writing and could only speak off the record, but that the hoardings should be down before Christmas. However, that’s exactly what a site manager told me during a £2million make-over of Clerkenwell Green in 2021.”

This year’s prank was a Banksy lookalike of a little girl holding toilet seat-shaped balloons that – to Mr Walker’s delight – was picked up by the Daily Mail and the Metro as a “suspected Banksy”, with journalists seeming to have little regard for the mural’s April 1 arrival.

“To be honest, I’m not sure I can top this year’s,” he said.

For his April Fool in 2021, Mr Walker put up an art gallery-style caption on the hoardings describing them as a “striking and unmissable art installation” titled “Black Upon Green, by Izzy Lington, timber and paint, 2019”.

The Shansky artwork

The following year he opted for an Islington Council-branded poster encouraging people to visit the “Clerkenwell Mound” – with a Photoshopped image of the hoardings towering high above Clerkenwell Green and tourists on viewing platforms at the top.

In 2024, he put up fake laminated planning notices announcing a giant bust of Jeremy Corbyn that would replace the “historic” hoardings.

That was “very popular with the nearby Marx Memorial Library,” Mr Walker wrote, but “less popular with some of the local residents”.

With Shanksy’s identity out in the open, one question still remains: what is the council going to do about the hoardings?

Councillor Santiago Bell Bradford, deputy leader and executive member for inclusive economy, culture and jobs, said: “We understand that this site has been a source of frustration for residents, due to the long-standing hoardings and uncertainty about its future.

“Clerkenwell Green is one of Islington’s most historic public spaces, and we’ve recently spent £1.4million on improvement works to help make it a more attractive space.

“The former Victorian toilets haven’t been used for many years and the site is in very poor condition. We’re currently developing plans for the site and look forward to sharing more details soon.”