Art by Mr Brainwash, of Banksy movie fame, to go on sale in Dubai

The artwork of man thought by some to be an actor hired by the UK street artist Banksy is set to go on sale in Dubai.

DUBAI // Acclaimed street artist Mr Brainwash is to start selling his work in Dubai - despite fears his creations are part of a hoax.

Speculation exists that he is not an artist but an actor working for the street artist Banksy as part of a social commentary on the commodification of street art.

Mr Brainwash, whose real name is Thierry Guetta, starred in Banksy's Oscar-nominated documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop.

The film follows Guetta as he sets out to make a movie about street artists, including the camera-shy Banksy - but Banksy turns the camera back on him and convinces him to reinvent himself as a street artist, Mr Brainwash.

Seven original canvases by Mr Brainwash will go on sale at the Pro Art Gallery in Jumeirah from next month.

His work will be showcased in an exhibition called Print and Multiples alongside pieces from other street artists including Banksy, Shepard Fairey and Blek Le Rat.

"Brainwash uses popular themes, like John Lennon, Obama, Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup, and puts them together," said Francois Epaud, a curator at Pro Art Gallery. "That's why people like him."

One of the canvases, Life is Beautiful, formed part of the artist's first exhibition in Los Angeles, an event captured in Exit Through the Gift Shop.

Mr Epaud declined to say how much the original might sell for but a similar canvas showing Charlie Chaplin recently sold on Artnet.com for $122,500 (Dh450,000).

The gallery also has more than 50 limited edition lithographs, some of which will go on display.

Exit Through The Gift Shop led many to question whether or not Guetta is a creation of Banksy.

Guetta ostensibly employs a large team of graphic designers to make his artwork for him and has named one of his pieces "I can't believe you morons actually buy this … ".

Earlier this year, he hinted there might be some truth to the questions about his authenticity.

"In the end, I became [Banksy's] biggest work of art," he told the Los Angeles Times in February.

Commentators are still divided over what Mr Brainwash represents for modern street art.

Rebecca Cannon, the founder of the Melbourne-based reviews site Artabase and a commentator on modern art, said the controversy over whether or not Mr Brainwash is a Banksy prank was a symptom in itself of street art's transition from the pavement to the gallery.

"Street art needs to be in the street if its purpose as a vehicle for open expression is to be realised," she said. "Once street art is in a gallery, it suddenly has to prove artistic integrity, which unfortunately, as we can see with the works of Mr Brainwash, doesn't always remain available under those conditions."