Banksy’s Identity revealed in a 20 year old resurfaced Interview?

Banksy’s secret identity has been one of the most famous debates in the art world, since the street artist’s emergence in the early 2000s, with various UK artists having been linked to the name, like comic book illustrator Jamie Hewlett or Robert Del Naja, part of the British trip-hop band“MassiveAttack”,thoughbothof them have denied the claims.

Now, ten years after an interview between Banksy and Nigel Wrench, former BBC arts correspondent, the 2003 recording has resurfaced and seems to reveal the artist’s identity – or does it?

Interviews with Banksy are rare and this early one provides the unique chance to hear the artist’s voice and information about his first name. In the interview, Wrench asks Banksy if he could use his real name, assuming his name to be “Robert Banks”. To this the then 20 yearold Banksy responded with: “It’s Robbie”.

Variations of Robbie, Robert or Robin have been continuously suggested as names for Banksy, with the artist Robert Gunningham fromBristolhavingbeendescribedbytheDaily

Mail as the “unmasked” Banksy in 2008, while others believe that Banksy is a collective of artist, rather than just one person.

In the full rediscovered interview Banksy also talks about how he sees his work not as vandalism but as “a quicker way of making your point”, adding that: “other people, they can change it. They can get rid of it. […] It is equally somebody else’s right to go out and paint over it if they don’t like it.” He further explained that he sees the city as a “big playground” which they can “mess about in”.

The resurfaced interview is part of the podcast series “The Banksy Story” and was released as a special clip on November 21st 2023.