Banksy gave his real name: the interview added mystery

Robbie Banks is the name of the mysterious street artist, journalists say

Since June, nothing has been heard from the most famous anonymous person on the planet, known under the pseudonym Banksy. And here’s the scoop: BBC Radio is publishing a fragment of an old interview from 2003, which was once reportedly cut and then lost, in which the street artist reveals his real name. “Robert Banks, huh?” — says journalist Nigel Wrench. “I’m Robbie,” a voice is heard in response, and not very clearly. Does this mean that the identity of the mysterious artist has been revealed? Not at all.

Firstly, with all due respect to colleagues, there is no certainty that the conversation is actually happening with Banksy. After all, this is an audio recording, we do not see the interlocutor’s face. Although the likelihood that the interlocutor is really Banksy is high. In 2003, he was just starting his career and could well have decided to do an interview on the eve of the opening of his first major exhibition, Turf War, which took place in a warehouse in east London. Let’s say this is true, Banksy’s name really is Robbie. But here – watch your hands, or rather, your words. Wrench’s interlocutor does not answer “yes,” that is, he does not confirm that he is Robert Banks. Only “Robbie” can be heard, and the recording is also somewhat “blurred” or cut off.

There are already a number of versions surrounding Robbie, as fans and journalists have been trying to unravel the identity of the artist for two decades. One of the most popular says: Banksy’s real name is Robin Gunningham. A graduate of the private Bristol Cathedral School, raised in a middle-class family, whose talent was evident at school. According to the Daily Mail, Robin Gunningham shared an apartment with artist Luke Egan, better known as Filthy Luker, also a native of Bristol. Luke later exhibited with Banksy. Around 2000, Gunningham moved to east London, and Banksy ended up there at the same time. In London, Gunningham shared an apartment with Jamie Eastman, then working for the Bristol record company Hombre. Banksy designed several music album covers just for her. In March 2016, the version about Robin Gunningham, first voiced in 2008, was confirmed by researchers from Queen Mary University of London, who “identified” Banksy using geographic profiling technology. They compared places where Gunningham lived or visited with places where Banksy murals appeared. We analyzed 140 graffiti and found many intersections. Maybe Robbie is Robin?

According to another version, Banksy is Robert Del Naya, one of the founders of the Massive Attack group, another native of Bristol. Before becoming a musician, Robert was a street artist, and his first live performance was an accompaniment to his gallery exhibition. Banksy mentioned his pseudonym, 3D, in an interview: “When I was about 10 years old, a kid named 3D was busily drawing on the streets. I think he was in New York and was the first to bring spray painting back to Bristol. I grew up seeing spray paint on the streets before I saw it in a magazine or on the computer. 3D quit painting and formed Massive Attack, which may have been good for him, but was a big loss for the city.” There are other intersections between figures – environmental activism, support for Palestine, passion for football. Banksy graffiti often appeared in places where Massive Attack concerts took place. Maybe Robbie is Robert 3D?

And yet, Robert Banks (according to another version – Robin Banks) – what is known about him? Yes, actually, almost nothing. Born in Bristol. A man who introduced himself by this name allegedly gave 14-year-old boy Ben Azariah his work on the train with the words “worth about £20,000, have a good life.” The boy described a random companion: a white man in baggy clothes and a black hat, in his backpack there was a respirator and cans of paint. According to the BBC, Robert Banks simply slightly changed his real surname for sonority. So Robbie is Banks?

Even if so, the aura of mystery, which suits the artist without a face and which has become his signature feature, has not gone away. On the contrary, the figure of an already established artist, whose works are sold for millions of euros, has become even more condensed. It is much more certain that Banksy is preparing something. Gone are the days when he was a poor guerrilla street artist, now he may well have a whole team working on his image. After all, he has a store, auction sales and, obviously, assistants who, at a minimum, manage financial affairs and, at a maximum, do PR. Such a “warm-up” might have been necessary to create the ground for a new bright and certainly poignant action. We wait.