If you thought Banksy had run out of surprises, well, the world’s most mysterious graffiti artist has popped up again. This this time with a brand-new street art piece featuring a lighthouse and a cryptic message that’s stirring up social media and sparking detective-level speculation.
The image? A beige, rather unassuming wall transformed into a subtle yet powerful scene: a lighthouse stencil, perfectly aligned with a nearby metal bollard casting a “shadow” that makes the humble street furniture look like the lighthouse’s silhouette.
Clever, minimal, and classic Banksy. And if you thought that was neat, there’s more. Scrawled beside the lighthouse are the poignant words, “I want to be what you saw in me.”
But here’s the thing: nobody can figure out where it actually is, which is odd as, surely someone would have spotted it by now. Can you solve this?
Banksy’s Instagram dropped the images, but the background is so nondescript that armchair detectives and street art sleuths alike are left guessing. One snap shows two folks strolling their dogs; another catches a blurry scooter rider zooming past. Not exactly clues to solve the mystery, right?
Online sleuths have zeroed in on Marseille, the sunny southern French city, as the most likely location — but with zero confirmation, it’s pure speculation. It’s a fittingly cryptic scenario for Banksy, who has made a career out of making us think twice about what we see and where we see it.
Adding another layer to the enigma, there’s a graffiti tag nearby reading “Yaze,” which has been linked to Canadian street artist Marco The Polo, who cites Banksy as an inspiration. Could this be a nod from one artist to another, or just a coincidence? In the world of street art, it’s anyone’s guess.
Banksy, whose true identity remains one of the best-kept secrets of our time, is known for striking without warning - using stark, clever imagery to comment on everything from homelessness to war, immigration, and social injustice.
His art is a form of protest, a mirror held up to society, and sometimes, a puzzle wrapped in an enigma. Remember last summer, when Banksy’s animals popped up across London, turning dull urban spots into wild, whimsical scenes?
Or the December piece of Madonna and child with what appeared to be a bullet hole in her chest? That one stopped people in their tracks and had the art world buzzing for months.
This lighthouse piece feels like a gentle beacon, which is hopeful, yearning, and haunting. “I want to be what you saw in me” reads like a plea, or maybe a challenge: How do we see the world, and what do we choose to believe?
Whatever the message, Banksy’s latest drop has once again proven that the man who never wants to be seen knows exactly how to be noticed.
So, as we wait for the eagle-eyed explorers to unearth this latest Banksy gem’s whereabouts, one thing’s for sure: the art world will be watching, wondering, and, as always, questioning.
