Murals That Hit You Right in the Heart (12 Photos)
Content warning: Which one is your favorite?
Street art often captures human emotions, societal messages, and profound statements in ways words cannot fully express. From murals depicting the stark realities of conflict to uplifting images celebrating nurturing moments, the works in this collection provide a visual journey through emotional depth, cultural significance, and humanity’s complex narratives. Here, you’ll discover a child’s playful imagination reshaping reality, the raw pain of the housing crisis, heartfelt reflections on war, and compelling advocacy for social change.
More: 14 Powerful Art Pieces Overflowing With Emotion
My Dog Sighs in Cardiff, UK
A striking mural features a detailed eye painted with Ukraine’s flag colors—blue and yellow. Within the eye’s reflection, Kyiv burns, symbolizing the human tragedy of war in Ukraine. Paint drips mimic tears, emphasizing sorrow and empathy.
🔗 Follow My Dog Sighs on Instagram
Chemis in Plzeň, Czech Republic
In Plzeň, a photorealistic mural by Chemis depicts a child wrapped warmly in bed sheets holding a teddy bear, an alarm clock above signaling the passing of childhood. The mural cleverly blends with the building’s aged facade, creating a surreal peeling effect.
Smug One in Greenock, Scotland
An impactful, lifelike mural by Smug One depicts a mermaid tenderly breastfeeding her child, capturing an intimate moment while advocating for the normalization of breastfeeding in public spaces.
More by SMUG: 24 Times SMUG Made Walls Look More Real Than Life
🔗 Follow Smug One on Instagram
Bifido in Gambettola, Italy
A large-scale mural titled “Hell Is Round The Corner” by Bifido portrays an older man holding his head in despair, masterfully integrating existing windows and architectural elements to intensify the expression of emotional distress.
Asbestos in Cork, Ireland
Asbestos addresses Ireland‘s housing crisis through a surreal mural of a person wearing a cardboard box over their head, capturing a profound feeling of helplessness and anonymity amidst the crisis.
🔗 Follow Asbestos on Instagram
Oriol Arumi in Lleida, Spain
Oriol Arumi transforms an apartment block into a stunning scene depicting storks nesting high in a tree, symbolizing family, hope, and the bond between nature and urban spaces.
🔗 Follow Oriol Arumi on Instagram
TANAI and Ali Zakir in Almaty, Kazakhstan
This cheerful mural by TANAI and Ali Zakir shows a child drawing a vibrant orange sun on a residential building, playfully blending street art with childhood innocence and optimism.
🔗 Follow TANAI on Instagram | Follow Ali Zakir on Instagram
GOIN in Geneva, Switzerland
GOIN’s poignant stencil artwork “Peace Maker” portrays a child attempting to heal a fallen dove, symbolizing efforts toward peace amid geopolitical conflicts, notably referencing the invasion of Ukraine.
Murales Lian’s mural in Ondarroa, Spain
A black-and-white photorealistic mural of elderly hands weaving a net, painted across the full height of a residential building. While the hands and background remain monochromatic, the fishing net is brought to life with vivid strands in orange, red, pink, blue, green, and yellow. The mural pays tribute to the traditional work of women in the coastal town of Ondarroa.
🔗 Follow Murales Lian on Instagram
Michael Rosato’s mural in Cambridge, Maryland, USA
This lifelike mural of Harriet Tubman is painted on the side of the Tubman Museum and Education Center. Tubman is shown stepping out of a broken brick wall, arm extended as if reaching for the viewer’s hand. Behind her, a calm riverside landscape glows under a setting sun. The artwork is titled Take My Hand and has become an iconic tribute to her legacy.
🔗 Follow Michael Rosato on Instagram
Anonymous artist’s stencil in Germany
A simple yet impactful stencil showing a young woman hunched over, vomiting a stream of bright red hearts onto the sidewalk. Dressed in casual clothes and holding a smartphone in one hand, the artwork titled Lovesick captures a raw, satirical commentary on modern relationships and emotional excess.
My Dog Sighs’ mural in Eccleston, Lancashire, UK
A detailed mural of a single eye painted on a textured wall, with teal and green tones suggesting flowing tears. The reflection in the pupil shows a cobblestone street and a solitary figure, adding depth and a subtle narrative of solitude and reflection. The artwork seamlessly integrates the rough wall texture into its emotional effect.
🔗 Follow My Dog Sighs on Instagram
More: 11 Times I Found Street Art Cleverly Using Its Surroundings
Which one is your favorite?
11 Beautiful Artworks That Seem to Grow From Nature
Some artworks don’t just sit in nature—they become part of it. Around the world, artists are crafting sculptures and murals that seamlessly merge with their surroundings, using trees, vines, and landscapes as living elements of their work. These 11 pieces don’t fight against nature; they grow with it.
From giant figures emerging from forests to street art that transforms urban greenery into playful illusions, these eight stunning creations prove that art and nature can exist in perfect harmony.More: 8 Inspiring Sculptures Seamlessly Integrated with Nature
1. “Sleeping Child” by El Decertor (Imbabura, Ecuador)
A mural by El Decertor in Imbabura, Ecuador, depicting a young child sleeping against a concrete wall, with creeping ivy blending into the painting as a natural blanket.
2. “UMI” by Daniel Popper (Illinois, USA)
“UMI” by Daniel Popper at the outdoor tree museum The Morton Arboretum in Illinois, USA—an intricate wooden sculpture of a woman with tree roots weaving through her body, set in a green landscape.About and more photos: “UMI” Sculpture by Daniel Popper in Lisle, Illinois
3. Street Art by David Zinn (Ann Arbor, USA)
A street art piece by David Zinn in Ann Arbor, USA, featuring a small green character with a real grass mustache blending into the pavement.More!: Street Art by Happiness Maker David Zinn (21 Photos)
4. Flower Street Art by Fabio Gomes Trindade (Goiás, Brazil)
A mural by Fabio Gomes Trindade in Goiás, Brazil, featuring a girl’s face with a real tree forming her vibrant pink afro hairstyle.More by Fabio Gomes: How Fábio Gomes Turns Trees into Hair: Stunning Murals in Trindade
5. Sidewalk Flower Experiment
A beautiful example of accidental nature-inspired art—kindergarten children dropped seeds into sidewalk cracks, leading to a spontaneous floral pathway.More photos and about: Kindergarten children dropped seeds in the crack of the sidewalk to see what would happen
6. “Nature Rings” by Spencer Byles (Deep Forest, France)
A series of woven circular sculptures by Spencer Byles made from natural branches, blending seamlessly with the surrounding forest.
7. Willow Archer by Anna & The Willow (UK)
A woven willow sculpture of a female archer by Anna & The Willow, set against a wooded path.
8. Wire Mermaid by Martin Debenham (UK)
A wire sculpture by Martin Debenham of a mermaid sitting on a rock, with the intricate metalwork mimicking flowing water.
9. Snake in the Green — Hyères, France
A plain gray cinderblock wall in a hidden grove was completely transformed into a lifelike snake by street artist Rest4. The viper, rendered in vibrant greens, blues, and yellows, emerges from the shadows of the forest floor. The before-and-after framing reveals the power of imagination to awaken forgotten spaces.
10. Fluentem Colos — Little Milford, Wales
Land artist Jon Foreman created this delicate, wave-like gradient in a woodland clearing using carefully arranged leaves. Starting in green and fading to deep orange, the sculpture blends with the forest floor in color, shape, and motion—appearing to ripple like wind through grass. More by Jon Foreman: 9 Leaf Sculptures That Stir the Soul in the Forest (Art by Jon Foreman)
11. Florinda Camila — “WA” Marko Franco Domenak in Lima, Peru
This creative mural cleverly incorporates a real bougainvillea bush as the hair of a painted woman. A monarch butterfly completes the peaceful scene, adding movement to this blend of paint and nature.🔗 Follow WA on Instagram
More: When Street Art Meets Nature (40 Photos)
Which one is your favorite?
Login • Instagram
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.www.instagram.com
Login • Instagram
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.www.instagram.com