Banksy: What it was like to work for anonymous superstar artist

For years, creation fans and journalists person been trying to fig retired the individuality of the Bristolian renegade and planetary improvement that is the thoroughfare creator Banksy.

Now a caller podcast, hosted by self-confessed superfan James Peak for BBC Radio 4, aims to recognize the antheral down the myth, who took graffiti from the underground to the precocious extremity creation world.

Peak's fascination with Banksy began erstwhile helium moved to London's eastbound extremity astir the twelvemonth 2000. He soon became intrigued by "these small rats sprayed everywhere.... and much and much of Banksy's thoroughfare pieces conscionable started to uncover themselves".

But arsenic with galore Banksy fans, it wasn't conscionable the artwork itself - and its societal commentary - that fascinated Peak. He was besides drawn successful by the artist's mystique, and the immense effort progressive successful producing graffiti undercover astatine velocity to debar some being identified and arrested by the police.

"There's a large enactment successful his latest show which I deliberation is thing like: 'Monet had light, Hockney had colour and I've got constabulary effect time,'" Peak says.

While rumours abound, his existent individuality has ne'er been revealed. But person we gone beyond needing to cognize who helium really is?

Peak says Banksy's anonymity "let's him support doing the campaigning worldly helium does unfettered" which, on with loyalty, astir apt stops the fewer successful the cognize from letting the feline retired of the bag.

"Being escaped to enactment successful the mode that helium does, that's ace valuable."

In fact, precise fewer radical who cognize Banksy person spoken publically astir him astatine all.

For the podcast, Peak spent a twelvemonth getting to cognize gallerist Steph Warren, who worked with Banksy astatine his people location Pictures connected Walls successful Shoreditch successful the aboriginal Noughties erstwhile she was successful her aboriginal 20s.

Once Peak had gained her trust, Warren opened up to him astir her experiences, having declined to motion a non-disclosure statement erstwhile she worked astatine the people house. She has ne'er talked publically before.

So what was it similar moving with Banksy and his unit during those heady aboriginal days successful a working-class country which would soon spell connected to go hipsterville?

"It was exciting," Warren tells me.

"The bureau was precise DIY, you know, precise punk. When I started determination I was the packing miss and I was licking the stamps to spell connected the tubes to nonstop the prints out, past carting them down to Old Street station office. It was precise breathtaking due to the fact that it felt similar I could beryllium progressive with helping it grow."

She past went connected to organise the pop-up accumulation and store, Santa's Ghetto, which past became an yearly event.

Banksy was furtive to a grade adjacent wrong the institution and, successful the podcast, Warren gives the content that he's thing of an observer, an outsider looking in.

"He was rather reserved," she says. "You could archer that helium had a batch going connected successful his head.

"And I hatred to usage the connection genius due to the fact that I wouldn't privation to telephone him a genius! But he's a precise clever man. [He had] a batch of philosophies and concepts that I conscionable didn't recognize astatine the time, but done his work, I person been capable to learn."

Warren says she was asked by Banksy successful the bureau 1 time to airs for what would go his present celebrated mural Sweeping It Under the Carpet, which depicted a maid astatine work. She decidedly has a look of Warren. There person besides been claims attributed to Banksy that helium based it connected a edifice maid successful Los Angeles.

The stencil, which was said to beryllium a remark connected the Western satellite ignoring planetary issues, appeared connected a partition successful northbound London successful 2006.

But down the scenes, things were opening to autumn isolated for Warren arsenic she became addicted to heroin, thing she says was portion of the creation country for immoderate astatine the clip and that she was introduced to portion moving there.

"There are tons of jobs where, to a definite extent, a definite level of alcoholism oregon substance misuse is accepted," Warren says.

In the podcast, she claims Banksy was "horrified" erstwhile helium recovered retired and took her for a locomotion to speech astir it but she denied she was taking the cause erstwhile helium asked.

Warren says heroin besides enabled her to artifact retired the grief she was going done aft the death of her BMX biker boyfriend successful an mishap backmost successful her location municipality of Hastings, not agelong earlier she moved to London.

In the podcast, she explains that she past fell retired with Banksy aft not being disposable for the past Banksy conception store, Santa's Ghetto, successful London successful 2006.

It got retired of manus connected its archetypal time with hundreds of radical warring to get in, successful the anticipation of buying 1 of the artist's constricted prints. Warren had arranged the greeting off, but said Banksy was uncharacteristically "fuming" with her due to the fact that she wasn't determination to negociate the queue.

In hindsight, she says: "I should person been there, I wasn't precisely a exemplary employee, I was connected heroin."

Soon after, Warren and Pictures connected Walls parted company.

While she does takes work for her choices, she feels that Pictures connected Walls could person offered to enactment her done a cause rehabilitation programme.

But the play inactive wasn't over.

Warren was accused successful the property the pursuing twelvemonth of fraudulently producing Banksy prints and selling them on, thing she has ever vehemently denied. When she wanted to support herself publicly, she claims Banksy's PR, Jo Brooks, cautioned her against the determination and that they tried to get her to motion an NDA. Warren says she refused.

Members of the section creation fraternity defended her and Pictures connected Walls past did their ain swift investigation.

They recovered that determination was nary grounds of immoderate fraud and Warren was exonerated but arsenic Peak says: "By that point, of course, the harm had decidedly been done."

After leaving Pictures connected Walls, Warren acceptable up her ain gallery, Stella Dore, successful the Truman Brewery connected Brick Lane. It folded a mates of years later, which Warren says was mostly owed to the planetary fiscal situation and her addiction. However, she says being a pistillate successful a male-dominated industry, alongside the mendacious accusations, didn't help.

"As a woman, you're ever disadvantaged anyway. And similar successful immoderate industry, if there's rumours astir your name, past it's an other crushed for radical not to usage your services."

Jo Brooks PR and Pictures connected Walls were some contacted doubly for a effect by Peak but neither got backmost to him. (Pictures connected Walls' store closed successful 2018 but it is inactive listed astatine Companies House and is the controlling entity of Pest Control Office, Banksy's existent institution which authenticates his works).

Warren aboriginal returned to the southbound coast, entered rehab and successfully re-launched Stella Dore successful 2018 successful St Leonards, again moving with thoroughfare artists.

"It's a fantastic assemblage here," she says.

"They truly person embraced maine and looked aft me. I've been capable to physique myself backmost up here."

Given her clip moving with Banksy ended connected a somewhat sour note, however does she consciousness astir him now, looking back?

"I deliberation what he's achieved is phenomenal and I'm conscionable transverse with myself due to the fact that I privation I'd had a amended caput connected my shoulders backmost then, you know, to truly enactment for him properly. I deliberation that he's a existent unit for bully overall. Even if my idiosyncratic acquisition isn't rather that."

The Banksy Story volition beryllium disposable connected BBC Sounds arsenic a boxset from Monday 17 July. The 10 episodes volition besides beryllium broadcast individually connected week days astatine 13:45 connected BBC Radio 4 from the aforesaid date.