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Items tagged with: artAndImagination
Dream On (15 Photos You’ll Remember)
Content warning: From a soaring leap in Philadelphia to a fence turned into a hammock in Istanbul, this collection captures moments of imagination, emotion, and escape. You'll see a girl on a swing painted in Belsito, a boy playing guitar across the steps of a Houston und
From a soaring leap in Philadelphia to a fence turned into a hammock in Istanbul, this collection captures moments of imagination, emotion, and escape. You’ll see a girl on a swing painted in Belsito, a boy playing guitar across the steps of a Houston underpass, and a child stitching cracks in the pavement with care. Scroll through 15 artworks where artists turned walls, streets, and even border fences into visual dreams.
More: 8 Buildings That Look Like They’re From a Dream
1. A Swing in the Summer Light — Antonino Perrotta in Belsito, Italy
A large mural of a girl seen from behind, swinging out from a window frame toward the mountains. Her white dress flows mid-air as she soars past rooftops and a classic streetlamp.
About this: “A swing in the summer light” by ATTORREP in Belsito, Italy
2. Border Hammock — Murat Gök in Istanbul, Turkey
What was once a barbed fence now serves as a hammock. A man lounges in the middle, supported by fence posts bent inward, as if the border yielded to rest.
3. Guitar Player — Alex Maksiov in Houston, Texas, USA
A teen boy plays a white electric guitar on a large staircase. His open guitar case below adds to the illusion, turning the steps into a stage.
About this: Guitar Player by Alex Maksiov in Houston, Texas, USA
4. I Have a Dream — Bane & Pest in Chur, Switzerland
A girl wearing a blue headscarf rides on the back of a giant sparrow emerging from the pages of an open book. Stacks of books line the bottom of the wall.
More by Fabian Bane: Stunning Street Art Transforming Walls Around the World
5. Leap — Tatyana Fazlalizadeh in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
A woman in motion floats mid-jump on a tall brick wall, casting a strong shadow. Her outstretched arms and tilted head suggest joy or freedom.
About this: Mural by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (6 photos)
6. Love — Alexander Milov at Burning Man, USA
Two large wireframe sculptures of adults sit back to back, while inner glowing children reach through to touch hands. Installed in the desert at night.
7. Girl Mending a Crack
In a black-and-white photo, a young girl uses Band-Aids to patch a crack in the pavement. Her concentration and placement mimic the act of healing.
8. When Street Art Meets Nature — El Decertor in Imbabura, Ecuador
A boy sleeps against a wall, half-covered by ivy that becomes his blanket. His teddy bear lies beside him as if the plants are tucking him in.
More: When Street Art Meets Nature (40 Photos)
9. Peacekeeper — Chris Butcher in Southampton, UK
A young woman dressed like a futuristic pilot cradles a glass terrarium filled with mushrooms, plants, and a glowing blue butterfly. She wears a green helmet sprouting a mushroom and a peace badge on her sleeve.
🔗 Follow Chris Butcher on Instagram
10. Fire Within — Bacon in Glasgow, UK for Yardworks Festival 2025
A monumental portrait of a child glows with inner light, the face and body painted with molten textures that resemble fire beneath marble. A white flower near the ear radiates soft warmth, contrasting the powerful energy flowing through the hair.
11. Childhood Dreams — Andy J. Céspedes Fernández in Moyobamba, Peru
A girl rests her head gently on her arms surrounded by flowers, a sparrow, and a kite. On her right, a miniature version of herself flies the kite amid giant petals.
🔗 Follow Andy J. Céspedes on Instagram
12. DAYDREAMER — TABBY in Vienna, Austria
A stenciled mural of a girl in a red dress with heart patterns, sitting with her chin in her hands. She looks up thoughtfully, framed in black and white against a beige wall.
13. Lameroo Silo Art — Smug in Lameroo, Australia
On two towering silos, a girl holds a baby wrapped in white fabric. Behind them, a glowing orange-and-purple sunset fills the horizon with harvest fields below.
More by SMUG!: 24 Times SMUG Made Walls Look More Real Than Life
14. Dread Dream — WD (Wild Drawing) in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia
A boy painted in rainbow tones sleeps curled against an old building wall, blending into the architecture. The word “DREAM” is painted faintly beside him.
More by WD!: 3D Street Art by WD (7 Murals)
15. Le Hérisson” by Wen2 in Coudekerque-Branche, France
A comic-inspired mural showing a corner building named Au Hérisson, glowing with warm light. In front, a red Citroën 2CV stands beside two figures, while the cobblestone street corner appears to float in mid-air, adding a surreal effect.
More: Street Art Utopia: Why People Fall In Love With Outdoor Art (25 Photos)
Which one is your favorite?
Buildings That Look Like They’re From a Dream (8 Photos)
From a church in Iceland that looks like a spaceship preparing for launch, to a house zipped open on a street in Milan — this collection showcases architecture at its most imaginative. Included are cliffside wartime refuges, storybook cottages, optical illusions, and centuries-old constructions that defy gravity or blend perfectly into mountains. These aren’t digital renderings — they’re real places from around the world.
More: 8 Beautiful Artworks That Seem to Grow From Nature
1. Unzipped Building — Alex Chinneck in Milan, Italy
A building facade appears to peel open like a jacket, with an oversized zipper curling away the wall to reveal its inner structure. This public installation by Alex Chinneck uses stone, concrete, and illusion to challenge how we perceive architecture.
2. King Alfred’s Tower — England
This red-brick triangular tower rises dramatically from the fog in Somerset, England. Built in 1772, it commemorates Alfred the Great and reaches over 49 meters high with a narrow footprint that adds to its illusion of impossibility.
3. Alpine Refuge — Monte Cristallo, Italy
Located at 2,760 meters in the Dolomites, this hidden wooden shelter from World War I is embedded directly into the rockface. Built for survival, it now appears like a dreamlike relic barely distinguishable from the mountain.
4. Hallgrímskirkja Church — Reykjavík, Iceland
This iconic Lutheran church, inspired by basalt columns and volcanic formations, dominates the Reykjavík skyline. Designed in 1937 and completed in 1986, its symmetry and scale evoke science fiction architecture.
5. The House That Sank — The Crooked House, UK
Built in 1765 on top of a mine shaft, this British pub developed a pronounced tilt as the ground beneath it slowly gave way. Despite its slanting angles, it remained a local favorite for centuries.
6. Organic Slate Roof House — Germany
This home with flowing lines and a wave-shaped slate roof blurs the line between fairy tale and high-end eco-architecture. Natural stone and soft curves give it a whimsical yet grounded appearance.
7. Cliff House — France (Built 1347)
Balanced between eras and gravity, this timber-framed upper house sits atop massive medieval stonework. Located in France and completed in 1347, it seems to hover above the road with support beams stretching underneath.
8. Rock-Built Homes — Sanaa, Yemen
Traditional Yemeni tower houses in Sanaa rise directly from the rock, combining ancient stone masonry with ornate white geometric window frames. The buildings appear both sculpted by nature and intricately human-made.These buildings bend our expectations of what architecture can be — not just structures, but expressions of ingenuity, adaptation, and creativity. Whether carved into mountains or dressed like zippers, they show that the line between surreal and real is thinner than it seems.
More: 30 Sculptures You (probably) Didn’t Know Existed
Which one is your favorite?
