Recently rediscovered TV interview may reveal the face of Banksy

Who is Banksy? A 16-year-old interview with the elusive graffiti artist might solve the question that has been bothering the art world for the last decade.

Robert Murphy, a news reporter, thinks he has come across footage of the artist. The interview contained an interview with a young man claiming to be Banksy in 2003.

Found in the ITV News archive, the short news piece was a report on Banksy’s first significant exhibition, “Turf Wars”, showcased in an East End London warehouse.

With his face partially covered by a t-shirt, the unidentified male told the ITV correspondent, Haig Gordon, “I’m disguised because you can’t really be a graffiti writer and then go public.”.

The same man that is interviewed claiming to be Banksy is seen to be completing a stencil of Banksy’s famous KILL MORE piece in the footage, featuring a baby playing with alphabet letter blocks spelling out ‘Kill More’.

The now-retired Gordon told ITV News that he wasn’t totally sure the man was the real Banksy, but that the event seemed like a totally normal event. He also added that he had initially forgotten the interview had taken place, although he saw the supposed artist unmasked “I don’t think I could say a single thing about what he looked like. Isn’t that dreadful?”

Banksy’s representatives did not confirm or deny the story, telling the Guardian: “No comment. We get loads of these.”

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Phoebe Gardner
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screen shot of footage from ITV News