Yesterday, a new work by Banksy—a lighthouse formed by the shadow of a street bollard and the phrase "I want to be what you saw in me"—was posted to the British artist/collective/persona's Instagram page. The hunt was on to find it; withing a day, it was tracked down to a tunnel in Marseille.
A false shadow appears to have been drawn on the pavement from a nearby bollard, giving the illusion that the lighthouse is itself a silhouette of the mundane street furniture. Its location was initially a mystery, but BBC Verify has confirmed it as Rue Félix Fregier in the southern French city. An image of the art circulating online shows a blurred person riding a scooter in front of the piece, with a graffiti tag seemingly reading "Yaze" further along the wall.
Banksy comes and goes, but always leaves something interesting. Some recent incidents, though, are not so heartening. In 2023, a Stop sign embellished with drones was stolen by a masked man, who was soon arrested. In 2024, someone defaced a mural painted in south-east London, to the dismay of locals. On the other hand, Ukraine's postal service issued a stamp featuring the disemvowelled FCK PTN!
Last year, Banksy released a series of nine animal-themed artworks across London, each one posted on consecutive days. The final piece depicted a gorilla lifting a shutter at London Zoo, releasing the inhabitants. Those not wanting to hunt anything down can check out to Basquiat × Banksy at The Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C.
