Banksy’s former manager has revealed when the anonymous graffiti artist was inches away from being caught in the act.
Steve Lazarides, who was Banksy’s manager from 1997 to 2008, told Metro the graffiti legend was ‘seconds’ away from being arrested and revealing his name.
The graffitist’s identity has been a well-kept secret since he rose to prominence in the 1990s, leading to wild speculation and rumours as to who the Bristol artist could be.
The world almost found out back in 2004, when Banksy was spraying the word ‘boring’ onto the side of the National Theatre on the South Bank.
Lazarides was on the other side of the road during the close shave with officers as he was taking pictures of the artist in action.
Banksy’s agent told Metro: ‘Just as he finishes writing it, the police were about to walk around the corner and see him.
‘I was too far away. I saw them coming, but I couldn’t shout, the street was too noisy.
‘He was just seconds away from being caught.’
Lazarides was also bound by his duty as the photographer not to get involved.
‘As the documenter, I am not able to help,’ he explained.
‘My job was to capture what is going on.’
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Unaware, Banksy made a very lucky escape and avoided the approaching officers.
The photographer recalled: ‘He rolled off and went to the walkway underneath.’
While street artists are far less likely to be arrested nowadays, Lazarides said back in 2004 Banksy would have been apprehended if caught, which is why he kept his identity anonymous.
This likely would have meant his secretive cover would have been blown.
Asked if his arrest that day would have led to his identity being exposed, Lazarides answered: ‘Probably, because he would have given his name to the police.’
According to Banksy’s former manager, the artist came close to being unmasked ‘numerous times’, but he was ‘remarkably lucky to get away with it’ throughout his career.
The pair, who are both from Bristol, met when Banksy was doing a feature for the magazine Sleazenation.
Photographer Lazarides then took Banksy’s portrait and a few weeks later got the call to photograph another piece by the now famous graffitist.
The pair then worked together for a decade as Banksy’s fame skyrocketed, with Lazarides snapping everything he did.
Lazarides spoke to Metro as he unveiled his collection of photographs and artwork, many from their time together, to collectors at an event hosted by the Grove Gallery.
Many of these include snaps of Banksy with his back to the camera as he worked.
The photographer said he once asked Banksy to give up his anonymity during the early stage of his career, saying his true identity is too unexpected to be believed.
Who is Banksy?
Banksy emerged as a street artist in Bristol in the early 1990s.
He’s thought to have been born in the Gloucestershire town of Yate in the 1970s, starting his artistic journey in the nearby city with a politically engaged music scene.
As part of Bristol’s DryBreadZ Crew, he was influenced by other figures in the Underground Scene like 3D, also known as Robert Del Naja, a member of Massive Attack.
By the 2000s when he appeared to move to London, Banksy had swapped freehand designs for stencilled ones, allowing him to produce pieces more quickly.
Already the most famous street artist in the UK, he started turning graffiti into high art favoured by the wealthy, with exhibitions in Britain and abroad.
Many of his murals call for peace and poke fun at authority and inequality, featuring characters like rats, police and children.
He explained: ‘I said to him, “Why don’t you just out yourself?” because then he could breathe and live your life.
‘I said to him: “No one is going to believe you. Everyone has that Robin Hood figure in their head and it is not you.”‘
But Lazarides said Banksy ‘just wouldn’t do it.’
Since then, canvases of Banksy’s work that used to be sold for just £200 at the beginning of his career, now go for millions.
His most recent artwork featured a mural is of a lighthouse shining with the words, ‘I want to be what you saw in me’ printed on it.
London went wild last summer when Banksy unveiled nine animal-inspired works across the capital.
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