It is a mystery which has left many scratching their heads.

But today (June 22) The Argus can reveal the identity of the person behind the ‘masked painter’ which appeared on a plinth in a city centre park.

The Brighton-based artist, known only as Imbue, said he was delighted to see pictures of his statue in The Argus and at theargus.co.uk.

The enigmatic character was spotted by residents in Victoria Gardens, Brighton earlier this week.

Imbue, 24, said: “I had the idea to make it a year ago. It’s a shop mannequin, dressed in my clothes and soaked in glue, then painted to look bronze.

"It was quite solid and I think it looked quite realistic.”

Residents were surprised to see the new addition to the park disappear almost as quickly as it had arrived.

Missing work

Imbue said: “I don’t know who took it. I kind of made it knowing that it would disappear.”

The piece had been standing in Imbue’s studio in New England Street, Brighton, for six months while he decided what to do with it.

He placed it in Victoria Gardens in the run up to his exhibition today (June 22) at the Green Door Store at Brighton Station, exhibited a variety of Imbue’s work.

He said: “It’s mostly contemporary with a lot of my new ideas. It featured a lot of screen prints, sculptural pieces and 3D pieces.”

After an exhibition of his work at the No Walls Gallery in Prince Albert Street last year, a national newspaper dubbed Imbue ‘the Banksy of Brighton’.

He said: “I’m a big fan of Banksy, so I thought that was pretty cool.”

Imbue, who has been working under the name for the last five years, said his identity is becoming more well-known.

He added: “I used to be more anonymous when I was younger, but as I’ve done more people are starting to know me by name.”