EPILOGUE
And so, now we close. I’ve been over in Sweden having some kids and roaming the Nordic wastes for another seven-year cycle. I’m often back in England and I’ve observed Robin’s continued ascendancy, the endless newspaper coverage and the ‘looking for Banksy’ hysteria. The kid is front-page news. His incursion into museums, his movie, he follows a line from Chatterton to Cary Grant, a lone rebel genius from the city of Bristol. He’s shown you can be famous without being known and that has got to be the best sort of fame – a whole spectrum away from cheap, gaudy, desperate celebrity. He shows up the complete and utter vacuity of celebrity. I would never wish that kind of fame on him, it’s like a curse, Coleridge’s albatross, weighing you down. It’s just not worth the money.
The establishment want to take bites out of him although they could hardly give a fuck about his messages. Where there’s money to be made, who cares?
I’ve seen, too, on the other side of things, his work trashed by holier-than-thou street politicos who believe his graffiti brings with it gentrification. He moves all sides into a fervour, that’s quite an accomplishment.
Now, someone like me is obviously going to defend him. I’ve always loved his appropriation of images from the news only to transform them into iconic images of insurrection. I’ve always loved his humour and its dark, melancholic edge he can’t shake off.
But now he’s through the mirror, on the other side. It’s where he wants to be yet I don’t think he should become too comfortable with that, to lose sight of himself, to forget those who supported him, who would not reveal his identity for any kind of money. He doesn’t owe anybody anything, that’s not it. Simply due to their acceptance of him, he has become part of the establishment, but they don’t deserve him and from my corner he should rock their boat more than ever. There’s a lot of us that don’t want him to become ‘flavour of the month’ only to pass on into oblivion. That’s the way the establishment will treat him. He’s worth more than that. Not just another pop icon to be worn on a useless T-shirt.
I hope his clear-sighted irreverence continues if only because his work brightens up the Ballardian nightmare we reside in. What a shame it would be for us if he lost his vision, by being cosseted in success. We want him to live out his artistic potential for the rest of his days, because he’s got it. He’s got the right stuff.
Can Banksy live up to his reputation? That’s the final question and I have faith, perhaps due to the countless number of times I would meet him and he started the conversation by saying, ‘Fuck, I was being chased by the law again last night. A real hard chase, over bridges, railway lines, across roofs and roads… they nearly caught me this time – they nearly had me!’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Johanna Köhlin-Clarke, Elisabeth Mary Clarke,
James Clarke, Jamal Chalabi, Ryan Broom,
Paul Horlick, Simon Doling, Simon Adams RIP
Thanks for your help.
PICTURE CREDITS
Page 1 Åke Eson Lindman
Page 2 Åke Eson Lindman
Page 3 Johanna Köhlin-Clarke
Page 4 Elisabeth Clarke
Page 5 Elisabeth Clarke
Page 6 Elisabeth Clarke
Page 7 Elisabeth Clarke
Page 9 Johanna Köhlin-Clarke
Page 10 malcolmfreeman.com / Alamy
Page 11 Zak Waters/Alamy
Page 12 Johanna Köhlin-Clarke
Page 13 Johanna Köhlin-Clarke
Page 14 Luz Martin/Alamy
Page 15 Johanna Köhlin-Clarke
Page 16 Ian West/Press Association Images
Page 17 Wesley Johnson/Press Association Images
Page 18 Main Sophie Duval/Empics Entertainment/Press Association Images, Johanna Köhlin-Clarke
Page 19 Johanna Köhlin-Clarke
Banksy´s foyer at the Carlton Arms in New York.
One of the corridors at the hotel by New York artist
Andre Charles.
The Williamsburg bridge rising to meet the city: my way to work.
Banksy working on his piece at the graffiti festival he organized in Bristol. His tag is in an operating theatre being dissected by surgeons and watched over by suited spooks.
More from the graffiti festival Banksy organized.
And even more from the Bristol graffiti festival.
A not-yet-acted-upon ‘Designated Graffiti Area’. Official-looking emblem from a fag packet. Note – ‘Please take your litter home.’
Mona Lisa carrying a bazooka first seen by me in the middle of a riot.
Rodin’s The Thinker becomes Banksy’s The Drinker, commissioned and plonked down at his own expense in a London square.
Banksy’s monkeys – a recurring motif.
West Country = Cider.
Typical dark humour.
My Harley shipped back from New York.
Another left-field idea becomes a reality.
Playing with iconic images of New York.
Classic take on Pulp Fiction in Shoreditch, London.
Paradise Quarry, Somerset.
INDEX
A
advertising, ref1
anarchists, ref1, ref2, ref3
animals, ref1, ref2, ref3
artworks, Banksy’s
at Barton Hill studio, ref1, ref2
for Blur release, ref1
Boadicea statue wheel clamped, ref1
‘Bombing Middle England’, ref1
in Bristol, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
at the Carlton Hotel, New York, ref1, ref2
cars at a Somerset quarry, ref1, ref2
for DJ Shadow release, ref1
grim reaper on The Thekla ref1
‘Liberty’ as prostitute, ref1
in London, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
‘Mona Lisa wielding a Bazooka’, ref1
monkey riding a bomb, ref1
at organised graffiti event, ref1
painting farm animals ‘Wild Style’, ref1
plans for London Zoo, ref1
‘public graffiti areas’, ref1
‘Queen Victoria’ in suspenders, ref1
rioter throwing flowers, ref1, ref2
sales, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
stenciling, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
‘The Thinker’ with bollard, ref1
Welsh Back warehouse, Bristol, ref1
Ashton Court Festival, ref1
B
Banksy, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
anonymity, ref1, ref2, ref3
at Ashton Court Festival, ref1
at author’s stag party, ref1
Barton Hill studio, ref1, ref2
character and bearing, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
and Damien Hirst, ref1
encounters with police, ref1, ref2
at Glastonbury Festival, ref1, ref2
in London, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
and London Zoo, ref1
a long night out in Somerset, ref1, ref2
name / tag, ref1, ref2, ref3
at organised graffiti event, ref1
and ram raid, ref1
in Red Hook, New York, ref1
and stenciling, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
visits art exhibitions in New York, ref1, ref2
see also artworks, Banksy’s
Blur, ref1
Boadicea statue wheel clamped, ref1
‘Bombing Middle England’, ref1
Bristol, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
bands, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Banksy exhibitions, ref1, ref2
Barton Hill studio, ref1, ref2
graffiti, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
historical background, ref1
organised graffiti art event in, ref1
Welsh Back warehouse, ref1
Bristol City Museum, ref1
C
Carlton Hotel, New York, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, re
f8
Chiapas, ref1
Clarke, Robert (author)
anarchy and politics, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
and attempted mugging, ref1
and Banksy at Ashton Court Festival, ref1
as Banksy’s lookout, ref1
as a cycle courier in New York, ref1
dreams about Banksy, ref1, ref2
first meets Banksy, ref1
girlfriend, Johanna, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
and Glastonbury Festival, ref1, ref2
and Harley Davidson, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
a long night out with Banksy, ref1, ref2
on millennium eve, ref1
purchases work from Banksy, ref1
and stag party in Camden, ref1
see also Carlton Hotel, New York; London
D
dreams (author’s), ref1, ref2
E
Easton, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
exhibitions
of anarchist propaganda, ref1
Banksy at Bristol City Museum, ref1
Banksy at the ‘Severnshed’, ref1
Damien Hirst in NYC, ref1
graffiti art in NYC, ref1
F
fame, rejection of, ref1, ref2, ref3
festivals, ref1, ref2, ref3
G
Glastonbury Festival, ref1, ref2
graffiti
by 3D, ref1
by Banksy at the Carlton Hotel, ref1, ref2
Banksy bombs a Somerset village, ref1
by Banksy in London, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Banksy’s tag, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
in Bristol, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
exhibition in NYC, ref1
at Glastonbury Festival, ref1
and the law, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
in New York, ref1, ref2
organised event in Bristol, ref1
‘public areas’, ref1
stenciling, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
see also artworks, Banksy’s
Greenleaf bookshop, ref1
H
Hirst, Damien, ref1
I
installations, Banksy’s, ref1, ref2
International Brigades, Anarchist, ref1, ref2, ref3
J
Jesse (author’s friend), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Johanna (author’s girlfriend), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
K
Koch, Mayor, ref1
L
law enforcement, graffiti and, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
‘Liberty’ in suspenders, ref1
London Zoo, ref1
M
Mark Stewart and the Maffia, ref1, ref2
Massive Attack, ref1, ref2, ref3
media, ref1, ref2, ref3
Millennium Dome, ref1
millennium eve, ref1
Mobb Deep, ref1
‘Mona Lisa Wielding a Bazooka’, ref1
monkey riding a bomb, ref1
Mookie, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Moonflowers, ref1
music and bands, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10
N
New York, ref1, ref2
newspapers, ref1, ref2, ref3
P
‘Paradise Quarry,’ Holcomb, ref1
police, ref1, ref2
Portishead (band), ref1, ref2
propaganda artwork exhibition, New York, ref1
‘public graffiti areas’, ref1
Q
quarries in Somerset, ref1
‘Queen Victoria’ in stockings, ref1
R
ram raiding, ref1
rap, ref1
record / music release covers, ref1, ref2
Red Hook, New York, ref1
S
sales of Banksy’s art, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
sculptures, ref1, ref2
Severnshed exhibition, ref1
Shadow, DJ, ref1, ref2
Slam Poetry, ref1
South America, ref1, ref2
Spanish Civil War, ref1
stag party (author’s), ref1
stenciling, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
studio in Bristol, ref1, ref2
subways, New York, ref1
T
tags, ref1, ref2, ref3
Telecom Tower, London, ref1
‘The Thinker’ with bollard, ref1
Thekla, The, ref1
3D, ref1
Tyler, Mike, ref1
W
Welsh Back warehouse, Bristol, ref1
Wild Bunch, ref1, ref2
‘Wild Style’ animals, ref1