Seven Years with Banksy (13 page)

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!’

Johanna Köhlin-Clarke, Elisabeth Mary Clarke,
James Clarke, Jamal Chalabi, Ryan Broom,

Paul Horlick, Simon Doling, Simon Adams
RIP
Thanks for your help.

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.