Last month, Banksy piece after Banksy piece cropped up across the capital.
The artist, who has been working since the ’90s, is well-known for their secrecy and privacy.
But given how prolific and high-profile their art is ― their Love Is In The Bin work sold in the hardly antiestablishment Sotheby’s for £18.6 million in 2021 ― it’s a wonder the artist/s have maintained their veil of anonymity.
Luckily, journalist Marina Hyde had answers on the behind-the-scenes showbiz The Rest Is Entertainment; and honestly, it’s not as sneaky as you think.
So what’s going on?
Banksy doesn’t necessarily pay anyone to keep their identity secret, Marina said on the show.
That’s partly because, she claims, they’d be wasting their money ― “I don’t actually think it is much of a secret,” she said.
“You can Google it pretty quickly,” she added, saying the story of his identity has been shared by certain publications more than once.
For most people, she says, the reason you don’t know is because you don’t want to.
“Do you actually want to know who wins Traitors before it airs?” she asked, suggesting some insider (or quasi-insider) goss loses all its allure when revealed.
“Lots of people don’t want to know. They like the idea, and I guess they respect the idea, that he doesn’t want to be known as an artist in that way.”
Is that... it?
Well, people got the idea into their heads somehow ― the artist really pushed for secrecy early on.
Even as late as 2019, a Banksy book showing the artist at work concealed their face. And as Richard points out, the extent to which he’s even considered anonymous takes a lot of effort.
Then there’s the fact that, as Marina says, the art form lends itself to secrecy.
“Stencilling helps him get away quickly,” she said; “I don’t think he hangs around for a huge amount of time.”
And if you were interested, Richard is a “big fan”; Marina isn’t so keen, saying the “obvious” art verges on “glib.”
“The fact that he has kept his identity secret I think is an extraordinary part of the point,” the Thursday Murder Club author said; “I think the whole thing is a piece of performance art, in every single stencil, it’s almost like one big canvas.”
He also points out that though the name has been revealed, it’s still “under wraps” thanks to tricks like SEO changes that suggest a Massive Attack member’s name in search results.
“But there’s one particular name ― if you want to go online, spoil it for yourself, you absolutely can do,” he added.
So there we go ― if The Rest Is Entertainment is to be believed, we’ve partly kept his anonymity for him. You know, for the art.