Marseille, France – The lighthouse appeared during the night. Painted in a wall hidden in a quiet Marseille street, its lightning lightning perfectly aligned with the shadow of the real life of a metal post in the pavement. In its center, stagnant in crispy, are the words: “I want to be what you saw in me.”
Banksy He had hit again.
On Friday, the elusive artist of British Street confirmed the work by publishing two images in his official Instagram account, without legend or coordinates. Fans quickly identified the location as 1 Rue Félix Frégier, in the Catalans district of the 7th Marseille district, near the sea.
Since then, the crowds have gathered at the site. Tourists take photos. Children’s point. The locals that generally go through the building stop to take a closer look.
There is no official explanation for the phrase. But his emotional attraction is unmistakable: a quiet plea for recognition, love or redemption. Some speculate that refers to a lonestar field ballad. Others call it a love letter. Or a lament. Or both.
The image is misleading: a lonely, dark and worn lighthouse, throwing a white ray. But what gives him power is the way he plays with the light: the real and the painted, seen and imagined. The post in front of the wall becomes part of the piece. Reality becomes the framework.
The mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, reacted quickly online. “Marseille X Banksy,” he wrote, adding a flame emoji. At noon, the hashtag #BanksyMersarseille was in a trend throughout France and beyond.
Although often political, Banksy’s art is so often personal, exploring issues of loss, longing and identity. In recent years, his works have appeared in buildings devastated by the war in Ukraine, in support of migrants who cross the Mediterranean and on the walls that condemn capitalism, Brexit and police brutality.
The artist, who has never confirmed his complete identity, began his career in Spray painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the best known artists in the world. His very often satirical naughty images include two male police officers kissing, the riot police armed with yellow smiling faces and a chimpanzee with a sign with the words: “laugh now, but one day I will be in charge.”
His work has Sold by millions of dollars In an auction, and the last murals in outdoor sites have often been stolen or eliminated by the owners of the buildings shortly after climbing. In December 2023, after Banksy military drones stagnated in a high signal in southern London, he was photographed demolished The bolt cutter sign. Later, the police arrested two men on suspicion of robbery and criminal damage.
In March 2024, a Environmental Thematic Work On a wall next to a tree in northern London, it was splashed with paint, covered with plastic sheets and fenced A few days after being created.
Despite fame, or infamy, at least in Marseille, not all who passed passed. Some did not even know who Banksy was, according to the local press.
In Instagram observers they say that this piece of Marseille feels calmer. More interior.
And yet, it is no less global. The work comes just ahead of an important retrospective of Banksy that opens on June 14 at the Museum of Art in the nearby Toulon with 80 works, including rare originals. Another exhibition opens on Saturday in Montpellier.
But Marseille’s mural was not destined for a museum. Live in the street, exposed to the weather, the steps and time. Until Friday night, barriers had not erected. There is no glass shield installed. Only a shadow, a beam and a message that is already circling the world.
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Adamson reported from Paris. Lawless reported from London
