That Wall Fooled Me (10 Photos)

October 25, 2026

By Vidar

Painted surfaces that refuse to behave

A bowl floats off concrete, a building seems to melt, and everyday surfaces open into aquariums, rooms, and impossible depth. Most of them need a second look.

🥣 Porcelain Bowl and Swallow — By Odeith in Portugal 🇵🇹

The bowl, spoon and swallow are all painted on one flat wall. Odeith’s shadows make the porcelain hover inches from the surface.

💡 Artist Fact: Odeith was born in 1976 in Damaia, Portugal, and ran a tattoo studio from 1999 to 2008 before moving to London. According to his Upfest artist profile, his anamorphic pieces painted across corners and from wall to floor first drew international attention in 2005.

🔗 Follow Odeith on Instagram, or see more of his anamorphic work on his website.

🐠 Fish Tank Illusion — By SCAF

The side-by-side image keeps the plain tank and finished aquarium in the same frame. In the after view, the metal cylinder becomes a glass home for an orange goldfish.

More: 26 Amazing 3D Paintings by SCAF!

🔗 Follow SCAF on Instagram.

🐆 Black Panther — By Dave Baranes in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France 🇫🇷

A black panther advances through a painted broken-wall opening while a real person stands below for scale. It stares straight out at the street.

💡 Artist Fact: Born in 1975, Dave Baranes grew up in Drancy, a suburb of Paris. His Urbaneez artist profile notes a long involvement with the Hôpitaux de France foundation, for which he has painted many murals in buildings for sick children.

More: Coming Through! (12 Photos)

🫠 “The Vision” — By CHEONE in Milan, Italy 🇮🇹

Real windows and balconies anchor a facade that seems to sag and ripple. CHEONE painted “The Vision” at Corso di Porta Romana 111 in 2021, with support from MV Line. The 214-square-meter wall was a commissioned piece, on view from late July to the end of September 2021.

More: Amazing 3D Murals by CHEONE! (24 Photos)

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe VisionCheone · 2021 · Milan214 m²Trompe-l’œilCasa Batlló inspiration1The painted facade covers 214 square metres.MV Line2Its bending windows and balconies were inspired by Gaudí’s Casa Batlló.Finestre sull’Arte202126 JulUnveiled, per MV Line202126 JulArtribune report202127 JulCollater.al: on view until 30 Sep20211 AugFinestre sull’Arte202117 DecChristmas version, until 31 Dec202227 FebCivita: “Time to Fly” on the wall202614 Junstreet-artwork.com listingRead the full file →

🐍 Le Serpent du Sentier — By REST4 in Hyères, France 🇫🇷

In the finished lower frame, the painted snake slips from the concrete wall into real leaves and branches. The two smaller frames above preserve the before-and-after transformation. On his website, REST4 describes it as an anamorphic fresco on a once-overgrown wall beside a path, revealed after the vegetation was cleared by hand. Photo credit: Var 83.

More: Nature’s Revenge (14 Photos)

🐡 Goldfish Anamorphosis — By Sébastien Sweo and Marlène Nikita in Calais, France 🇫🇷

An orange fish pushes out of a black recess between teal blocks and curling white bands. The painted shadows make the fish look suspended in front of the facade. The 5.7 Crew duo painted it in 2023 for the Calais street art festival organized by Les Ateliers du Graff, at 2 Rue Vladislav Volkov. Street Art Cities lists it as untitled, while Trompe-l’œil.info records it as “Le poisson combattant.”

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsLe Poisson combattantSweo & Nikita · 2023 · CalaisAnamorphosisBeau-Marais5.7 Crew1The fish is an anamorphosis whose appearance depends on the viewing position.Trompe-l’œil2The mural is credited to Sweo and Nikita of 5.7 Crew.Street Art Cities2023SepPhotographs taken by Trompe-l'œil's contributor202319 SepTrompe-l'œil catalogue entry dated2024OctStreet-Heart's explicitly dated photographsRead the full file →

🔗 Follow Sébastien Sweo and Marlène Nikita on Instagram.

⛏️ Optical-Illusion Tunnel — By Sipion in Callao, Lima, Peru 🇵🇪

A construction worker appears to step from a glowing tunnel painted across the building corner. Real windows sit inside the false opening, making the depth harder to untangle.

More: When Walls Open Up (8 Photos)

⚪ 3D Pearls — By Sofles on Deptford Pearls in London, England 🇬🇧

Pearl strands drape across the pink wall while a blue polka-dot tie slips between the chimneys. This later 3D treatment plays with Artmongers’ long-running Deptford Pearls landmark.

💡 History Fact: The pearls-and-tie building on Deptford High Street began as “His n Hers” by Patricio Forrester of Artmongers. Lewisham Council’s public art list dates it to 2002 as a Deptford X festival commission; Artmongers’ own history says they painted it for free in 2001.

Read the Deptford Pearls project history, and follow SOFLES.

🧱 “Break Through” — By Patrick REDL Wehrli in Schaan, Liechtenstein 🇱🇮

An oversized hand and red demolition hammer burst through a painted hole, while a second false opening reveals blue sky and mountains. REDL painted the anamorphic mural for the Hilti Art Foundation on a wall at Feldkircher Strasse 100 in Schaan, according to the artist’s own Street Art Cities entry.

More: Break Through by REDL in Liechtenstein (Video and Photos)

🎮 A Child Sits Inside the Wall — By Dadospuntocero in Langreo, Spain 🇪🇸

A girl sits inside a gray painted recess with colorful game characters behind her. The real facade becomes the edge of an oversized room.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCobertura 2GDadospuntocero · 2023 · LangreoTwo facadesReused yoghurt cupsPokémon characters1A real cable becomes the connection between two painted yoghurt-cup telephones.La Voz de Asturias2The girl is one half of a two-facade scene with a boy on the other wall.elDiario.es2023AprArtist's reported start of painting202331 MayArtist's image publication, dated retrospectively by Digital de León202411 JanelDiario.es interview on the mural and its nomination202425 JanLa Voz de Asturias interview explains the cable and reused cups20241 FebDigital de León reports second place; not a new condition surveyRead the full file →