Never-before-seen photos of Banksy taken before he became famous

These photos show a man rumored to be the elusive street artist Banksy spray painting one of his greatest works of art.

The images show the man at work on a Banksy work in Malaga, Spain, entitled ‘The Turbozone Truck’ in 2000, which was eventually auctioned for between £1 and £1.5 million but failed to sell.

Before he became more of a secret artist, Banksy painted the side of a 17-ton circus truck after a party.

The photographer – who wishes to remain anonymous – took the recently released photos at 6 a.m. on New Year’s Day 2000.

The photographer said: “I used to spend a lot of time in Bristol.

“Our friends told us about this party that was happening in Spain and we thought, why not?”

“Back then, we were very aware of Banksy’s stuff when it came out, but he was still pretty under the radar.

“Then we were at the party and saw this guy painting – the three of us just turned to each other and said, that has to be Banksy.”

“We didn’t know back then that he would one day become one of the most famous artists in the world.”

The photographer said that when he approached the man and asked him if he was Banksy, the man replied yes.

They added: “It wasn’t a big conversation – I remember we said we had seen some of his work in Bristol, as I recall he had flown in from Bristol.”

The artwork is considered to be the largest work Banksy has ever created.

Before and after its unsuccessful auction in 2019, the truck traveled through Europe and South America as part of Turbozone’s Cinderella show.

It also features in Banksy’s book “Wall and Piece”, published in 2006.

Recently, other images were published that are rumored to show Banksy on a skiing trip in the 1980s.

Two photos show him falling backwards through the air while catching a ski jump, while another photo shows him lying on the slope with four of his classmates.

A third photo shows him and eleven other boys in front of the Berlin Wall on the West German side of the imposing barrier that prevented people from escaping the communist GDR.

This article was first published on May 21, 2023.

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