Just Play Along (8 Photos)

When real life joins the art

The Merlion becomes a drinking fountain, a pink elephant gets offered a bottle, and a bronze finger finds a nose. Add a ball-playing orca and a dog in a painted suit: these eight photos work because someone joins in.

More: 100 Times People Stepped Into the Artwork

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💦 A Very Big Drinking Fountain — Singapore 🇸🇬

A visitor lines up with the Merlion’s water jet for an oversized drink. The landmark was built by sculptor Lim Nang Seng, as Visit Singapore records.

💡 Landmark Fact: The Merlion was designed in 1964 as a tourism logo for Singapore, according to the National Heritage Board.

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🐘 One for the Elephant — By SCAF

The pink elephant appears to break through the wall while a person offers it a bottle. The bottle bridges the gap between the visitor and the painted animal.

💡 Artist Fact: SCAF is a French artist from Lorraine whose work draws on realism and comic art, with a particular focus on animals and anamorphic illusions, according to Visit Southend’s artist profile.

More: 3D Paintings by SCAF

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👆 Right on the Nose

A raised bronze finger becomes a very personal greeting. One carefully placed face is all it takes.

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🐋 Your Turn — By Nikolaj Arndt

A beach ball and a waiting player turn Nikolaj Arndt’s painted orca into a partner. The pool stays on the pavement; the game happens in the photo.

🔗 Follow Nikolaj Arndt on Instagram

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👎 Tough Crowd — By CHEONE and Mor Pavone in Nerviano, Italy 🇮🇹

A person on the ground gets a giant thumbs-down. CHEONE and Mor Pavone’s mural in Nerviano turns a low concrete bridge into a frame for the encounter.

🔗 Follow CHEONE on Instagram

🔗 Follow Mor Pavone on Instagram

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🎩 Dressed for the Occasion

The suit and hat are painted on the gate. The dog supplies the face.

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👾 Ready for a Rematch — By SCAF

A person in a yellow wig squares up to SCAF’s pink creature. The costume carries the cartoon battle off the wall and into the rubble below.

🔗 Follow SCAF on Instagram

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🧻 A Little Help — The Thinker

A roll of toilet paper gives Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker a much less philosophical problem. The offer is perfectly placed beneath the statue’s lowered hand.

💡 Sculpture Fact: The large bronze version of The Thinker was first shown publicly in London in 1904, according to the Musée Rodin’s chronology.