A new Banksy artwork has been revealed by the mysterious graffiti artist.
The mural is of a lighthouse shining with the words, ‘I want to be what you saw in me’ printed on it.
The shadow of a nearby bollard has been sprayed on the pavement, as if the shadow it is casting on the concrete wall behind it is the lighthouse.
Banksy uploaded two photographs of the work to his Instagram account today, including one showing two elderly dog walkers looking at it.
The post was not accompanied by a caption or location. But one person seemingly saw the piece last week, writing on X: ‘Do it Banksy style… somewhere in Marseille!’
Users have said it appears to be in Le Panier, a neighbourhood of the French city known for its murals and narrow streets.
What the mural means is unclear, with Banksy famously being tight-lipped about what his art symbolises.
But social media users had their thoughts, as Jacob Witzling commented: ‘Give light and people will find the way.’
Another Instagram user said: ‘In our image-driven society, we often confuse our identity with our appearance.
‘Banksy transforms an ordinary post into a lighthouse to demonstrate that even the most ordinary things can shine if we choose to view them differently.’
While J van Wouwe, a photographer, said: ‘Living up to the expectations of someone you look up to. Someone who saw the guide you could be, not being one in a dozen, but truly special.’
This is the first fresh piece by Banksy, the secretive street artist known for his anti-authoritarian and anti-war work, that he has posted since August.
A photograph of his ‘Madonna with Child’, posted in December, was originally displayed at a private exhibition organised by the Pest Control Office in London in February.
Over the summer, the artist sprayed nine animal-themed works across London, including a goat, elephants, swinging monkeys, a howling wolf, a stretching cat, pelicans, piranhas, a rhino and a gorilla escaping London Zoo.
Many of the pieces featured themes of confinement and escape, experts told Metro, with many expecting the elusive artist to unveil a ‘grand’ piece.
Instead, however, he went silent once again.
The Pest Control Office, the organisation that manages contact with Banksy, declined to comment.
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