Keeping a stiff upper lip is a core British value, but English DJ and visual artist Goldie let his get exceptionally floppy on a recent episode of the Distraction Pieces podcast, in which he appears to reveal the true identity of famously anonymous street artist Banksy. While discussing the commodification of street art, Goldie—who has experience in the graffiti world himself—referred to the artist as “Robert,” seemingly confirming the theory that Banksy is actually Massive Attack founding member Robert “3D” Del Naja. He said: “Give me a bubble letter and put it on a T-shirt and write “Banksy” on it and we’re sorted. We can sell it now … No disrespect to Robert, I think he is a brilliant artist. I think he has flipped the world of art over.”
Goldie and Del Naja are close friends, and Del Naja was a prominent graffiti artist even before he joined Massive Attack, so the theory does seem to check out. Banksy has even cited Del Naja as an “influence” on his work, forming a perfect circle of ego. Of course, it’s also possible that the “slipup” was a calculated attempt to divert the attention from the real Banksy. But Goldie seems caught off guard and changes the subject shortly after mentioning this mysterious “Robert,” so if that’s the case, he’s a very good liar. You can hear that bit of audio for yourself here.
[via CNN]