LONDON, March 14. /TASS/. World’s flamboyant street artist Banksy, who prefers to be always staying anonymous, was born under the name of Robin Gunningham but changed it as he grew up, Reuters news agency reported citing his former manager and photographer, Steve Lazarides as saying.
Britain’s Mail on Sunday weekly newspaper was the first to report in 2008 that Robin Gunningham was hiding behind the artist's personality. In an interview with Reuters, Lazarides confirmed the authenticity of this publication, stressing that Banksy changed his name after the article was published.
"There is no Robin Gunningham," Reuters cited Lazarides as saying when asked about the artist’s identity. "The name you’ve got I killed years ago."
The artist’s former manager slammed as useless all attempts to find and identify the artist saying it is a "dead end." Lazarides noted that in 2008 he decided to go separate ways with Banksy based on a mutual consent.
According to the news agency, one of the final duties on part Lazarides in the capacity of the artist’s manager was to organize a legal process to change the name.
