Tauranga's 'Banksy' artist an imposter

Speculation that international street artist Banksy could possibly be in New Zealand has been dashed.

The image of two lovers in an embrace, looking at their phones, cropped up in central Tauranga last week.

The notion the largely-anonymous artist could be in the country was sparked by at least three cases of mysterious street art cropping up in Tauranga's central city, including the image of Prime Minister John Key flipping the bird the day after his shock resignation this week.

The image is reflective of Banksy's stencil style, and the artist's traditional theme of political and societal messages. Despite years of fame, the identity of Banksy remains largely unknown.

The painting is also signed off with a stamp reading "Banksy".

However, the Bay of Plenty Times has since learned the artworks have been done by a Banksy impostor.

Banksy's London-based publicist Joanna Brooks said the artist was not in New Zealand and had not been recently.

The mysterious artwork of John Key being beamed up by a UFO comes just months before the 2017: Paradox: Tauranga Street Art Festival, which will run from March until the end of June and feature some of Banksy's work.

Festival director George Shaw also claimed no knowledge of the recent events.

Speaking from Christchurch, Mr Shaw said the recent John Key piece was ''a very well-delivered stencil''.

Last week, two other Banksy style artworks popped up in a service lane between Goddards Centre and 46 Spring St.

Who is Banksy?- No one knows the gender, nationality or any other identifying features of Banksy- There are theories Banksy is a group of artists around the world- Banksy does not have any social media account and is not represented by Steve Lazarides or any other commercial gallery