Caught by Art (8 Photos)

By Vidar
Two photographs: two women sit beneath Banksy’s painted arcade claw, while a visitor pretends to take a suitcase beside a sculpture of an embracing couple.

When art gets hold of the scene

A bronze batter sends office papers flying, Banksy turns a bench into an arcade prize, and a visitor joins a statue in conversation. Across these eight playful scenes, art draws passersby into the picture. The poses and expressions give still figures a part to play.

More: When Sculptures Come Alive (9 Photos)


A visitor lies across the anvil of a large bronze blacksmith statue as the statue raises its hammer.

⚒️ Forged by the Smith

The hammer is raised, the anvil is ready, and the visitor lies exactly where the cartoon logic needs him. The statue supplies the threat; the pose supplies the punch line.

More: Playing With Statues (20 Photos)


An office worker in business attire jumps and tosses papers as a nearby bronze statue of a batter swings a bat.

⚾ Office Home Run

The batter is frozen mid-swing. The visitor supplies the papers, the jump and the perfectly timed reaction, making a routine workday look like it has just been knocked out of the park.

More: Playing With Statues (23 Photos)


A woman in a white coat throws her hair sideways and holds her cheek as if slapped by a pale classical statue holding a fruit basket.

💁 Hair Flip

The statue’s open hand is already in the right place. The visitor leans back, holds her cheek and lets the flying hair sell the hit.

More: People Made Statues Look Funny (8 Photos)


A man lies on his back with one foot placed in the hand of a walking Ronald Reagan statue.

👟 Dragged Away

The visitor lies flat and hooks one shoe into the walking statue’s hand. Suddenly Ronald Reagan is not striding past—he is taking somebody with him.

More: People Made Statues Look Hilarious (12 Photos)


Two women sit on a seafront bench beneath Banksy’s painted arcade claw on Lower Esplanade in Gorleston-on-Sea, England.

🎮 Arcade Grabber — By Banksy in Gorleston-on-Sea, England 🇬🇧

A painted arcade claw hangs over a real seafront bench on Lower Esplanade. Anyone sitting there becomes the prize.

💡 Street Art Fact: Banksy confirmed the arcade claw as part of his 2021 East Anglian “Great British Spraycation,” a series that also included works in Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Cromer, as the BBC reported.

More: Banksy? Who Is the Visionary of Street Art? (25 Photos)

🔗 Follow Banksy on Instagram


A visitor reaches toward a suitcase beside a sculpture of an embracing couple, pretending to take their luggage.

🧳 The Sneaky Luggage Thief

The sculpted couple are busy embracing. A visitor reaches toward their suitcase and pretends to steal it, turning a still scene into a moment of comic mischief.

More: Playing With Statues (40 Photos)


A woman leans toward a seated bronze figure with her fingers against her cheek and her mouth open.

💬 Caught in Conversation

A woman leans toward the seated bronze figure, one hand against her cheek. Her open mouth and the statue’s fixed expression make the quiet sculpture look like one half of a lively conversation.

More: Playing With Statues (40 Photos)


A painted man holds his head as pink and purple snakes coil around his neck and arms in a mural by Cristóbal Persona in Moyobamba, Peru.

🐍 Pink and Purple Snakes — By Cristóbal Persona in Moyobamba, Peru 🇵🇪

The final figure is painted, but he may be the most thoroughly trapped of them all. Pink and purple snakes coil around his shoulders, neck and wrist as one hand pulls at one near his collar.

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🔗 Follow Cristóbal Persona on Instagram

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