Brace your self: You are about to listen to the voice of the artwork world’s most elusive determine — and be taught his first title.
Nigel Wrench, who labored as a BBC arts correspondent within the ’90s and 2000s, claims to have unearthed a taped 2003 interview he had with Banksy early within the extremely secretive graffiti icon’s profession. Wrench instructed BBC Radio 4 that he was impressed to dig up the long-forgotten dialog — which was recorded on a minidisc amassing mud in his cabinet — after listening to its “Banksy Story” sequence, which concluded in July. As a end result, the BBC launched a bonus episode Tuesday that options audio from Wrench’s interview, during which the purportedly male artist appears to substantiate his first title.
In the 2003 recording — which was carried out to assist Banksy’s “Turf War” exhibition, held in an east London warehouse — Wrench begins his interview by testing his mic, after which asks the artist if he’s OK with Wrench utilizing his full title for readability.
“Is it Robert Banks?” Wrench will be heard asking.
“It’s Robbie,” the artist responds.
“Robbie? OK —” says Wrench earlier than the audio cuts off.
Stefano Guidi through Getty Images
Wrench instructed Radio 4 that after asking Banksy his full title, he by no means for a second doubted it was faux.
“There was no reason to think he was lying,” Wrench mentioned, noting that he referred to Banksy as Robbie all through your entire interview. “No one has ever contacted me from the Banksy empire. No one ever contradicted that.”
“If it wasn’t his real name, why wouldn’t he just go with ‘Yes, it’s Robert Banks?’” Wrench later questioned. “I thought [after he said his name was Robbie] that it was absolutely his real name.”
Fans have lengthy speculated about Banksy’s title — although the enigmatic artist has efficiently masked his identification for years because of an absence of concrete proof. Some have theorized that he’s Robert Del Naja of the band Massive Attack, drum-and-bass legend Goldie or Neil Buchanan of the CITV kids’s present “Art Attack.” But many are satisfied that Banksy’s true identification is Robin Gunningham, after scientists at Queen Mary University of London claimed in 2016 to have found a sample during which a lot of Banksy’s works had been in shut proximity to addresses linked with Gunningham.
Wrench instructed Radio 4 that those that sincerely imagine he interviewed the true Banksy all the time ask him what the mysterious artist seems like. Wrench mentioned he can’t recall something apart from him being a “young bloke in a hoodie.” But Wrench did be aware that he distinctly remembered the artist’s vibe being “incredibly relaxed,” “authentic” and “totally engaged” throughout the interview as a result of he supplied considerate responses to all of Wrench’s questions.
In the interview, the artist describes himself as somebody who’s simply making road artwork that takes “less time to make it than it takes people to look at,” and is perplexed when Wrench asks if he’s attempting to place politics again into artwork.
“I really don’t consider myself very political,” the artist says. “I drink a lot of beer and smoke cigarettes, but obviously if you think about anything about your life longer than a second … somebody somewhere in the world is getting done over. Apparently that does make me more political than most people. I don’t know. I guess people are lazy.”
Wrench additionally instructed Radio 4 that he was struck by Banksy’s disinterest in promoting his artwork on the “Turf War” exhibition, and that the artist was far more keen on getting the phrase out that there have been free stickers attendees may take dwelling.
In the recording, when Wrench asks the artist if he’s going to point out as much as the opening of his exhibit, he tells Wrench that he has “something better to do” like watching “telly.”
“I feel working in graffiti, you’re not really in a position where you can stand next to your work and smile and shake people by the hand, you know?” the artist will be heard saying about his unlawful artwork. “And plus … if you never show up and people don’t know who you are, then you’re a character. And you can mean different things to different people. But it’s a shame because I’d like to pay for my own beer where I’m going tonight.”
To hear extra of Wrench’s 2003 interview, which incorporates attention-grabbing particulars about how the artist felt his exhibit was a “celebration of vandalism,” head over to BBC Sounds for the entire episode.
