THE location of Banksy’s latest artwork as been revealed after the mysterious street artist left a tricky riddle for fans.
The elusive artist posted a picture of a lighthouse to his Instagram on Thursday, but give no clues as to where it could be found.
But now, the piece has been traced to a beige wall in Marseille, southern France.
The photo uploaded on Thursday showed Banksy‘s latest creation with a couple walking two dogs past it.
It depicts a black-and-white stencil of a lighthouse, overwritten with the phrase: “I want to be what you saw in me.”
Deft paint strokes give the impression of sweeping light beams, and there is a false shadow painted on the pavement from a street bollard.
The exact location has been confirmed as Rue Félix Fregier.
The enigmatic message was first spotted in the song “Softly” by the American country band Lonestar, though the connection to Banksy’s art has yet to be decoded.
His new work follows a series of pieces which have cropped up across the UK.
Just last year, a teacher who lives in Acton, London shared her delight over spotting one of the artist’s pieces of work in her area.
The image of a goat perched precariously on a wall left many fans speculating over its meaning.
In another instance, a homeowning couple in Lowestoft, Suffolk were upset upon receiving a call informing them that their house now featured a Banksy mural.
It was the largest work ever done by the famous yet anonymous street artist.
In the foreground he had placed a real skip which had strips of insulation in it that resembled chips.
This artwork, which emerged in August 2021, gained global fame as hundreds of visitors flocked to see it, with some even placing their children in the skip being targeted by the painted gull for photo opportunities.
With talk of the art work being worth £3million, the stunned couple wondered what to do next.
But instead of making them a fortune, the street art caused them years of anguish and left them seriously out of pocket.
It eventually cost them in excess of £400,000 to have it removed and put in storage and they continue to fork out £3,000 a month to keep it there in the hope of eventually finding a buyer.
“It’s not a seagull, it’s an albatross!” says an angry Gert.
“At first you think you are gifted by Banksy but you are actually not.”
Who is Banksy?
WHILE the exact identity of Banksy remains a tight-lipped secret, there is one man who many believe is behind the iconic artwork.
In 2008, a picture of a man in Jamaica emerged who was allegedly going by the pseudonym Banksy.
The man was later revealed to be Robin Gunningham, per the Mail on Sunday.
Robin was born in 1973 in Bristol – a place known to be Banksy’s long-supposed stomping ground.
He was a pupil at Bristol Cathedral School.
Robin’s father, Peter Gordon Gunningham, was a retired contracts manager from the Whitehall area of Bristol.
His mother, Pamela Ann Dawkin-Jones, was a company director’s secretary and grew up in the exclusive surroundings of Clifton and he has an older sister called Sarah.
When Robin was nine, the family moved to a larger home in the same street and it is there he spent his formative years and became interested in graffiti.
He is married to lobbyist Joy Millward.
Other reports have suggested that he could be artist and musician Robert del Naja due to Naja also being a graffiti artist and member of the Bristol collective The Wild Bunch.
