Banksy appears to confirm his name in missing BBC interview – The Hollywood Reporter

A graffiti titled “Art Attack” by graffiti artist Banksy appears on the controversial Israeli West Bank wall in Ramallah on August 6, 2005.

Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images

Who is Banksy? It’s one of the art world’s, and perhaps even popular culture’s, greatest mysteries since the street artist burst onto the scene in the early 2000s. But we may be one step closer to the artist’s true identity following the recent discovery of a missing BBC interview in which Banksy appears to confirm his name.

As reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on Monday It revealed a 2003 interview between emerging young street artist Banksy and former BBC arts correspondent Nigel Wrench. The original recording was edited for a spot on BBC Radio which was then used as part of the BBC podcast series Banksy’s story Which was released in July. But Wrench, after listening to the podcast series, was inspired to revisit the full original recording and discovered a lot of buried information about the artist that had never been used.

In the unearthed audio recording, Wrench speaks to Banksy, who was in his 20s at the time, before the artist’s appointment. Grass war He exhibited in East London in the summer of 2003. Wrench asks Banksy if his name is “Robert Banks”, and the artist replies: “It’s Robbie.”

Banksy’s identity has long intrigued the art world, particularly the UK’s feverish tabloid press. The artist rarely gives interviews, which has added to his mystique. In one of his few early interviews, The artist spoke to guardian In 2003He is described as “white, 28 years old, dressed casually – jeans, t-shirt, silver tooth, silver chain, silver earrings. He looks like a cross between Jimmy Neil and Mike Skinner from the streets.”

Over the past two decades, several people have been identified as Banksy, most notably Robert del Naja, also known as 3D and co-founder of the hugely influential hip-hop act Massive Attack. Supposed evidence that Del Naja was Banksy includes that they were both from the Bristol area, and that the musician also dabbled in graffiti at an early age. Jimmy Hewlett, artist and designer best known for co-creating the Gorillaz comic book band Tank girlhas also been suggested in the past as Banksy’s real identity.

In 2008, Daily Mail claimed That a man from Bristol called Robin Gunningham was Banksy. The newspaper spoke to Gunningham’s friends and peers at school to confirm the story. The Mail reports that Gunningham began going by the name Robin Banks, which later became Banksy. in October, Sunday times mentioned That Gunningham may have to reveal his identity due to a defamation suit to settle whether he was behind the famous murals.