STOP AND SEARCH for Banksy (Part 2): Beginnings—Infamy Rising

Rivington Street Tunnel “Exhibit”, Banksy (2000)

    When I was a kid, I had a 500 piece puzzle set, which featured a cheeseburger.  It seemed impossible to solve, until I realized that, if I separated parts into “like” pieces, positioned them according to shape, and then started with the outside edge, it was much easier to sort things out and solve the puzzle.  This is how we will treat the Banksy puzzle, as well: we will separate the parts into “like” categories and solve the puzzle, using only those pieces, which fit together.  We can’t use circumstantial evidence or “legend has it” finds.  We will stick with what we know. That being said, let’s dump all of the pieces onto the table and start with the beginning parts, as we piece together the outside edge of the Banksy mystery.

    It was the 90s, and Bristol slept—unaware that infamy was rising.  Within its streets, back alleys, train yards, and abandoned places, a young man was running with the wrong crowd—a band of vandals, who called themselves the “DryBreadz Crew” (DBW).  With his mates, Kato and Tes of the DBW, he would hone the tricks of his future trade.  He was learning all of the important things a young man, who was determined to stay on the wrong side of the law, would need in life—things, such as hurrying along your wall tagging, when you see a train pass, so that you aren’t caught by the cops, and using stencils as a more efficient method for this high-stakes “street art.”    

“As soon as I cut my first stencil I could feel the power there. I also like the political edge. All graffiti is low-level dissent, but stencils have an extra history. They’ve been used to start revolutions and to stop wars.” Smithsonian Magazine

     Not much is known about Banksy’s life, before he vandalized his way into the art world.  The only definitive information we have is two-fold: 1. He grew up in Bristol.  2. He is, now, middle aged.  If you consult the internet (depending upon the source), his birth year is between 1970-74.  If you are searching for his socioeconomic status, in those growing up years, the waters are muddled there, too.  As indicated in Part 1 of this series, the more I have researched into the Banksy phenomenon, the more questions I have accumulated.  Additionally, other than the occasional and indiscernible closed-circuit camera footage of Banksy tagging walls, the only other definitive photographic evidence we have of him is the Time magazine photo (see below) and a forgotten interview with ITV, where his face is partially obscured.  (Hold onto the last bit, as we will need that puzzle piece, later.)  

    Speculation by a well-known British tabloid, which made the claim sixteen years ago to have unmasked Banksy, provided, not only the names of his parents, but also his hometown, his private school’s name, and his school photo.  Again, none of these claims have been verified as truth, so we can’t, for now, use them in our puzzle.  We can, however, trace his first works and their locations.

Photograph by Banksy for Time

    While we know that his street art began in the mid-nineties, his first known, large wall mural, The Mild, Mild West, was found on a wall at 80 Stokes Croft in Bristol, England, in 1997.  Stokes Croft is located north of the city center.  As the area is known for its nightlife and creative atmosphere, it’s little wonder that Banksy used this place as his springboard into history.  

The Mild, Mild West, Banksy (1997) Wikimedia Commons

    By 1998, the world was gifted the first inside exhibition of the artist’s work.  His venue was a flat in Easton, Bristol.  Instead of walls, he used acrylic on canvas.  It was in this show, that we see his artistic style, overflowing with political messages, emerge.  An early version of Love Is In The Air was in the collection.

    It was during these early years, that Banksy would acquire an agent—a Bristol photographer, by the name of Steve Lazarides.  In the beginning, Lazarides would sell Banksy’s prints out of the back of his car and create a photo journal of the artist tagging walls.  Eventually, through Lazarides’ guidance, “Pictures on Walls” (POW) was created in 2003.

“POW was started in 2003 by a loose collection of artists, graffiti writers and illustrators who were shunned by the controlling influencers of the day - so we set about producing and distributing our own art.” - Pictures on Walls website

    Lazarides can, now, be found immersed in his own venture, “Las Emporium,” where he delves into subculture and soft furnishings.  In an interview with Art Plugged, he mused about his days with Banksy: “Would I want it back? Would I work with Banksy ever again? The answer is very resounding no.  I had a good time.  I don’t want to do it again.”  Keep this musing and “POW” on the table.  Again, we will revisit these pieces in an upcoming post.  

    He seems to have done a bow in the Bristol tagging period, with an exit show, “Severnshed,” in February 2000, at a local restaurant.  This, however, isn’t to say that he won’t make a future return to his original venue. According to Bristol Post, there are, in addition to Stokes Croft, 12 remaining Banksy pieces throughout Bristol.   From these Bristol beginnings, he would introduce himself to the London authorities, with an outdoor exhibition in the Rivington Street Tunnel, May 2000.  

“A week later we came back to the same tunnel with two buckets of paint and a letter. The letter was a forged invoice from a mickey mouse Arts organization wishing us luck with the “Tunnel Vision mural project”. We hung up some decorator’s signs nicked off a building site and painted the walls white wearing overalls. We got the artwork up in twenty five minutes and held an opening party later that week with beers and some hip hop pumping out the back of a transit van.” Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall , Banksy (2001)

    For now, I shall leave the artist in London, with his vocation as street artist, fully underway. What we have, so far, are the beginning pieces of his story, which form the outside edge of the puzzle.  As mentioned above, I will be revisiting some of the information in upcoming posts. I hope that you will join me, as I continue to search for Banksy.

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭32‬

A list of my sources, so that you can STOP AND SEARCH for Banksy, as well:

Rivington Street Tunnel:  Banksy Blog

Banksy Blog YouTube

Art Plugged 

Banksy quote from Banging Your Head Against the Wall:  Robertspahr.com

For a list of Banksy works and dates :  Banksy Explained