Fairy Tales Come to Life (7 Photos)

Storybook characters, found in real places

Pinocchio counts a pile of cash, Cinderella’s coach lies wrecked under camera flashes, and a mermaid has surfaced in a German town square. These artists took characters everyone knows from childhood books and put them somewhere you can walk up to them.

More: Fairy Tales Gone Wrong (8 Photos)

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🧜‍♀️ Mermaid — By Lydia and Vanessa Hitzfeld in Wilhelmshaven, Germany 🇩🇪

A mermaid rests her arms on the edge of a rock pool that is not there. The pool is paint on the paving of Valoisplatz, and the two people standing on her tail show the scale. Lydia and Vanessa Hitzfeld made it for the 14th International StreetArt Festival Wilhelmshaven in summer 2026. It was the festival’s largest motif, and the artists told the local paper they wanted to document the closeness to the North Sea. Photo by Rabbithole Photography.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsMermaidLydia and Vanessa Hitzfeld · 2026 · Wilhelmshaven3D pavement paintingValoisplatzStreetArt Festival 20261The artists mixed their own paint from pigments and a light binder, so the picture would not last long.NDR2NWZ called the mermaid in her water-filled pool the festival’s largest motif.NWZ202624 JulAnnounced, motif a surprise202631 JulNDR: being painted20262 AugNWZ: largest motif20263 AugNWZ: pond and mermaidRead the full file →

More: Best of Wilhelmshaven Street Art Festival (11 Photos)

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🎃 Cinderella’s Coach — By Banksy in Weston-super-Mare, England 🇬🇧

Midnight came, and so did the press. The pumpkin coach lies on its side, the white horses are down, and Cinderella hangs out of the window while a pack of photographers keep shooting. The Art Newspaper read the scene as a nod to the death of Princess Diana. It was one of ten Banksy pieces at Dismaland, his “bemusement” park in Weston-super-Mare.

💡 History Fact: Dismaland was open for 36 days in August and September 2015, with 58 artists and about 150,000 visitors. When it closed, its timber and other materials were taken to Calais and used to build shelters in the migrant camp.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCinderella’s CarriageBanksy · 2015 · Weston-super-MareLife-size (Daily Beast)Dismaland, 2015One of ten Banksy pieces1The Daily Beast called it a life-size crime scene replica with Cinderella in place of Princess Diana.The Daily Beast2After Dismaland closed, its timber and materials were cut up for shelters in the Calais camp.NBC News201521 AugThe Art Newspaper201521 AugDaily Beast: Diana scene201522 AugTime: the diorama201526 AugCritics on the castle201527 SepDismaland closes201516 OctMaterials go to CalaisRead the full file →

More: Inside Banksy’s Dismaland

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🎩 “Alice in Wonderland” — By Vera Bugatti and Carlos Alberto GH in Brande, Denmark 🇩🇰

Alice has grown too big again. She sits jammed under the roof of a house gable, chin in hand, holding out a small cake marked “Spis mig”, Danish for “Eat me”. Two visitors fit easily into the painted window beside her feet, which shows how big she is. Vera Bugatti and Carlos Alberto GH painted the trompe l’oeil gable at Jernbanegade in Brande in May 2016, a year after Bugatti won the audience prize at the town’s street art festival.

💡 Town Fact: Brande has painted its gables since 1968, when a group of residents invited Danish artists to come and paint them.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsAlice in WonderlandVera Bugatti & Carlos Alberto GH · 2016 · BrandeTrompe l’oeil gableJernbanegade, BrandeBrande street art festival1VisitDenmark says it was revealed on 1 July 2016, opening the Street Art Festival in Brande.VisitDenmark2Vera Bugatti had won the festival’s audience prize the year before.hsfo.dk201616 MayBeing painted20161 JulUnveiled at festival opening20175 AprPhoto by Lars Bay201827 FebPhoto by Lars Bay, snow20249 AprMuren: permanent gable20261 JanUturnart town guideRead the full file →

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🐇 “Rabbit Hole” — By Seth in Le Mans, France 🇫🇷

Stand at the right point at the dead end of Jankowski Street and the walls open into a tunnel of light. A small figure tumbles down it, Alice-style. Seth painted the anamorphosis across the buildings of the dead-end street in the city center in May and June 2022. Photo by Lapin Blanc.

💡 Award Fact: Seth’s Le Mans wall was among the nominees in Street Art Cities’ Best of 2022.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsRabbit HoleSeth · 2022 · Le MansAnamorphic muralPlein Champ festival5th, Best of 20221The illusion lines up from one spot: a missing paving stone at the entrance of the cul-de-sac.ICI Maine2Seth was the special guest of the Plein Champ festival and designed that year’s poster, according to Street Art Cities.Street Art Cities20222 JunStreet Art Cities: created202326 JanLe Bonbon: top 10 finalist20231 FebICI Maine: visible, 5th20238 AprPhoto on street-artwork.com20251 MaySarthe Tourisme pageRead the full file →

More: “Rabbit Hole” in Le Mans, France (6 Photos)

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🧞 Genie Out of the Can — By SCAF

Aladdin brought a spray can instead of a lamp. He crouches in the corner of an old hall in a purple vest and a respirator, and the Genie pours out of the nozzle as a blue trail across the floor, then rises over two walls with his arms flung wide and his mouth wide open.

More: 26 Amazing 3D Paintings by SCAF!

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🪝 Captain Hook — By EFIX

The hook is real. EFIX placed Peter Pan’s old enemy on a white door and lined up his arm with the metal latch on the frame, so Captain Hook grins with a working door hook for a hand. The French artist builds his pieces around what is already there: pipes, signs, locks and drain covers.

More: EFIX’s Clever Art (9 Photos)

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🤥 “Pidrocho & Friends” — By EL ROJO

Pinocchio has swapped school for a suit and tie, and he is very happy with the pile of banknotes in front of him. The donkey ears from his old story are still there. Around the table, a few purple rats help themselves to the coins.

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