How Is That Possible? (8 Photos)

Eight artworks where down stops making sense

A stone hangs from a rope without touching the ground. People fall sideways across a Paris wall, an apartment block opens into empty space, and an upside-down duck dangles by one foot. These eight works use balance, forced perspective and painted shadows to make gravity feel briefly optional.

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🪨 Floating Stone Illusion — By Sha’ban Abbas at Cairo International Airport, Egypt 🇪🇬

One stone-like form hangs above another, joined by a taut rope that seems to carry the entire weight. Egyptian artist Sha’ban Abbas created the optical illusion in 2008 for Terminal 3 at Cairo International Airport. Photos of it often circulate online with invented miracle stories; a Dismislab fact-check traces the image back to the airport sculpture.

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🏙️ “Suspended Figures” — By STRØK in Paris, France 🇫🇷

Figures drift, tumble and run across the blank side of a building while their long shadows point in different directions. STRØK, also known as Anders Gjennestad, painted the wall on Rue de la Glacière in the 13th arrondissement in May 2016, ahead of a solo show at Galerie MathGoth. The figures come from his own photographs, and as he told Brooklyn Street Art, they look like they are falling until you tilt your head.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsUntitledSTRØK (Anders Gjennestad) · 2016 · Rue de la Glacière, ParisMay 2016With Galerie MathGothParis 13th arrondissement1Brooklyn Street Art reported the new wall on Rue de la Glacière on 12 May 2016, made in collaboration with Galerie MathGoth.Brooklyn Street Art2According to Galerie MathGoth, residents chose the design from three projects: four hip-hop dancers the artist turned 45 degrees.Galerie MathGoth201612 MayBrooklyn Street Art: new wallRead the full file →

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🪽 “Flight” — By Tatyana Fazlalizadeh in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 🇺🇸

A woman rises high above the street, with a deep painted shadow making the leap feel physical. Tatyana Fazlalizadeh painted Flight in 2022 with Mural Arts Philadelphia at 1228 Spruce Street, as part of a series that imagines flying as liberation, escape and transformation.

💡 Artist Fact: Oklahoma City-born Fazlalizadeh is best known for Stop Telling Women to Smile, a street art series she began in 2012 that pairs portraits of women with their responses to street harassment, and which she turned into a book in 2020.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsFlightTatyana Fazlalizadeh · 2022 · PhiladelphiaMural Arts Philadelphia13th & Spruce, Center City1The artist says she lived in this building when she was 17, according to Streets Dept.Streets Dept2According to Mural Arts, it is the largest of a series of murals named Flight around Center City.Mural Arts202229 OctStreets Dept photos202228 DecStreets Dept: top 1320231 MarPlanning magazineRead the full file →

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🦆 “Bounce back” — By Jack Lack in Emden, Germany 🇩🇪

An upside-down duck hangs by one foot, feathers compressed as if the fall ended a second ago. Stuttgart-born Jack Lack created the mural for Hit the Trog, the August 2026 graffiti event on the concrete walls of Emden’s Trog, and describes it as a reminder that falling may be unavoidable, but the response is a choice.

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❄️ “Arctic Circle House” — By Shozy in Salekhard, Russia 🇷🇺

The center of the apartment block appears to have vanished, leaving rooms and windows suspended inside a white void. Shozy painted the anamorphic facade for the 2022 YAM(ural)AL festival at 8 Gubkina Street.

💡 Place Fact: Salekhard was founded by Russian Cossacks in 1595 and is, as Russian Life puts it, the only city in the world that lies directly on the Arctic Circle.

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🤸 “Simple Acrobatics 2.0” — By Artez in Bristol, England 🇬🇧

A red shirt and gray trousers first read as one impossible human knot. Look longer and two figures emerge, curled together in a rolling pose across the wall of the Tobacco Factory. Artez painted the work for Upfest 2026.

💡 History Fact: The Tobacco Factory was built in 1912 for Imperial Tobacco and stopped producing tobacco in 1986. Local architect George Ferguson bought the derelict building in 1993 and saved it from demolition, according to the venue’s own history.

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🕴️ “Leaning Stone” — By JPS

A sharply dressed figure leans at the exact angle of a broken concrete slab, as if both man and stone have agreed on a new direction for down. JPS uses the shape of the found surface to complete the illusion.

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❤️ “Falling in Love” — By The Rebel Bear in Glasgow, Scotland 🇬🇧

Two figures drop headfirst past a small red heart on an almost empty wall. The tilt of their bodies creates the fall, while the title turns the familiar phrase into a literal moment at 16 Candleriggs in Glasgow.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsFalling in LoveThe Rebel Bear · Merchant City, GlasgowCouple falling, kissingMerchant City, GlasgowMost popular (artist)1GlasgowWorld, August 2021: “A couple falling while kissing is on the side of a building in the Merchant City.”GlasgowWorld2In a 2025 planning application, the artist reportedly called it “my most popular piece I have ever done”.Edinburgh News202123 AugGlasgowWorld: Merchant City202222 JunTripadvisor: “look up”20249 AugStreet Art Cities photo202523 FebArtist: “most popular”202528 FebTripadvisor: on the cornerRead the full file →

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