A graffiti titled “Art Attack” by graffiti artist Banksy is seen on Israel’s highly controversial West Bank barrier in Ramallah on August 6, 2005.
Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images
Who is Banksy? It has been one of the art world’s, perhaps even pop culture’s, most enduring mysteries since the street artist burst onto the scene in the early 2000s. But we may be one step closer to discovering the artist’s true identity following the recent discovery of a lost BBC interview in which Banksy appears to confirm his name.
The BBC reported on Monday that it had unearthed a 2003 interview between young aspiring 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 The Banksy Story, released in July. But after listening to the podcast series, Wrench was inspired to revisit the full original recording and discovered much more hidden information about the artist that was never used.
In the audio recording discovered, Wrench speaks to Banksy, then in his 20s, ahead of the artist’s Turf War show in East London in the summer of 2003. Banksy is asked by Wrench if his name is “Robert Banks,” and The Artist replies, “It’s Robbie.”
Banksy’s identity has long fascinated the art world, and particularly the feverish tabloid press in the United Kingdom. The artist rarely gives interviews, and this has added to his mystique. In one of his few early interviews, the artist spoke to the Guardian in 2003 and was described as “white, 28, scruffy casual – jeans, T-shirt, a silver tooth, a silver chain and a silver earring”. He looks like a cross between Jimmy Nail and Mike Skinner from the Streets.”
Over the past two decades, various people have been identified as Banksy, most notably Robert Del Naja, also known as 3D and co-founder of the hugely influential trip-hop band Massive Attack. The alleged evidence that Del Naja was Banksy included that they were both from the Bristol area and that the musician also dabbled in graffiti when he was young. Jamie Hewlett, the artist and designer best known for co-creating the band Gorillaz and the comic Tank Girl, has also been suspected in the past to be Banksy’s true identity.
In 2008, the Chron claimed that a man living in Bristol named Robin Gunningham was Banksy. The newspaper spoke to Gunningham’s school friends and classmates to confirm the story. The Mail reports that Gunningham initially went by the name Robin Banks, which later became Banksy. In October, the Sunday Times reported that a defamation lawsuit could force Gunningham to reveal his identity to clarify whether he was behind famous murals.