Banksy appeared to disclose his identification in a 2003 interview solely now being shared by the BBC for the first time.
Back in 2003, the mysterious Bristol-based road artist, whose identification has lengthy been the topic of public hypothesis, took half in an interview for BBC Radio 4’s PM programme.
Banksy, who on the time was engaged on his present Turf War in east London, spoke to former BBC arts correspondent Nigel Wrench in regards to the anti-authority nature of his work nonetheless current at the moment.
Now, 20 years later, the BBC has launched the interview in full as The Bansky Story, which is out there on BBC Sounds. During the interview, Banksy appeared to substantiate his first identify.
“Are you happy for me to use your name? I mean, The Independent has,” Wrench requested Bansky, who replied: “Yeah.”
“Is it Robert Banks?” the journalist continued, to which Banksy replied: “It’s Robbie.” “Robbie. OK. Robbie,” Wrench reiterated.
Over the years, Banksy’s actual identification has lengthy been speculated about. One such identify is that of Robin Gunningham, who was not too long ago named because the first defendant in a authorized motion accusing the artist and his firm Pest Control Ltd of defamation.
(BBC)
Previously, it had been rumoured that Robert Del Naja, also called 3D, of the group Massive Attack is Banksy, Del Naja additionally started his profession as a graffiti artist, and each have addressed the similarities in their work, claiming to be associates and thus two separate folks.
Banksy started his profession as a graffiti artist portray throughout Bristol. Turf War, which ran for three days in Dalston in 2003, was his first gallery present in the UK and helped increase him to prominence in the British artwork scene. It helped set up the artist’s trademark mystique, with the exhibition’s location solely being launched in the future earlier than it started.
It featured graffitied police vans, pictures of Winston Churchill with a grass Mohican and the late Queen as a chimpanzee, and dwell cattle with the Met Police’s blue-checked patterns painted throughout them.
A dwell pig at Banksy’s first UK exhibition, 2003’s Turf War
(PA)
Speaking to the BBC in 2003, Banksy was requested in regards to the fashionable artwork institution, given lots of them could be attending his present. In response, Banksy mentioned that he was uninterested in the “art world”.
“I’m not really into the art world, the ‘Brit art’ thing,” he informed Wrench. “I don’t know… it’s not something that interests me, really. I’m more into art that’s voted for by people with their feet than I am into one millionaire judging you and telling people whether you’re ‘art’ or not.”
When Wrench identified that his canvases had been on sale for £15,000, Banksy responded: “Apparently so! That’s not what I get for ‘em! No. I make paintings these days, you know? And yeah, I dunno who buys them actually. Maybe I should find out. Good point.”
Artist this summer staged his first solo exhibition, titled Cut & Run, in Glasgow
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Instead, he said that he was much more interested in street art, and that people can paint over his work if they don’t prefer it.
“I’ve even had policemen in the past say they kind of like things about it, but… I just think it’s my right to go out and paint it,” he mentioned. “And it is equally somebody else’s right to go out and paint over it if they don’t like it, you know?
“It doesn’t actually take very long with a bucket of white paint to paint over things. I think it’s better if you treat the city like a big playground, you know?… It’s there to mess about in, you know?”
The Banksy Story is on BBC Sounds now.
