Images of an enigmatic new work by elusive street artist Banksy set off debate about its meaning — and a hunt for its location that ended Friday in the south of France.
It started with photos on the artist’s Instagram site showing a stenciled lighthouse on a wall and the words “I want to be what you saw in me.” The stenciled lighthouse gives the illusion of being the shadow of a bollard standing near the wall.
A photo posted Thursday on Instagram, where Banksy usually posts new works, shows a couple walking two dogs past the artwork.
Banksy, who has left his mark on buildings from London to Los Angeles to Ukraine to the West Bank, did not disclose the work’s location. After online speculation suggested it could be in Marseille, southern France, The Associated Press tracked it down in a street near the city's port.
Some speculated the quote could be inspired by “Softly,” a song by Tennessee-based country band Lonestar, which features the lyric: “I want to be what you see in me. I want to love you the way that you love me.”
Banksy, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists. His mischievous and often satirical images include two male police officers kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces and a chimpanzee with a sign bearing the words, “Laugh now, but one day I’ll be in charge.”
His work has sold for millions of dollars at auction, and past murals on outdoor sites have often been stolen or removed by building owners soon after going up. In December 2023, after Banksy stenciled military drones on a stop sign in south London, a man was photographed taking down the sign with bolt cutters. Police later arrested two men on suspicion of theft and criminal damage.
In March 2024, an environmentally themed work on a wall beside a tree in north London was splashed with paint, covered with plastic sheeting and fenced off within days of being created.
