Banksy confirms his own name in a forgotten interview, the BBC reported.
In a 2003 recording, reporter Nigel Wrench asks the artist if his name is Robert Banks, and he replies, “Robbie.”
There have long been guesses about the creator’s name – Robin, Robert, Robbie.
In the interview, Banksy compared his approach to art – painting graffiti very quickly anonymously – to heating food in a microwave oven.
“It’s fast,” says the Bristol artist. “I want to finish quickly”.
This is one of the earliest known interviews with Banksy, often called “mysterious” and “mysterious” by the press. He is then in his 20s. He was interviewed by Wrench in the summer of 2003 for the opening of his Turf War exhibition in East London.
Banksy’s identity remains unknown, but the interview gives his fans, which include many celebrities, a chance to hear his voice.
The full interview can be heard on BBC Sounds as The Banksy Story. A bonus episode was also recorded on the podcast after its launch.
An edited version was originally broadcast. Years later, after listening to The Banksy Story podcast, Wrench found the full interview on minidisc in his home. In the unaired segment, Banksy defends vandalism as art.
“I’m not here to apologize for that,” says Banksy. “It’s a quicker way to get your point across, isn’t it? Likewise, my mum used to say about the Sunday roast every time: It takes hours to cook and minutes to eat”.
“Now she’s eating microwaved food and seems much happier. I take that approach to art. I want to finish and forget.”
Asked if the graffiti was vandalism or illegal, Banksy said:
“Get out! Break! Have fun!”, adding that others can in turn scribble on one’s work.
“Other people can change it. They can get rid of it.”
Banksy is famous for a series of graffiti that appeared on buildings in the UK and featured satirical motifs. He is one of the most famous artists in the world, but he still prefers to keep his identity a secret, at least officially, BTA recalls.
In 2018, the artist stunned the art world when his painting “Girl with a Balloon” “self-destructed” in London, immediately after it was sold at auction.
