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Victoria Villasana, Les Arenes de Picasso near Paris. All images courtesy of Joseph Ford, shared with permission

A Collaborative Photo Project Imagines a World Where Street Artists Have Free Rein

What would artists create if all of the world’s surfaces could become a canvas? Joseph Ford—of Invisible Jumpers fame—responds to this question in a new project called Impossible Street Art. Collaborating with eight artists including Peeta (previously), Levalet (previously), and Victoria Villasana (previously), Ford reimagines the possibilities of public spaces that are otherwise inaccessible due to scale, safety issues, or restrictions.

To begin the project, Ford photographed the locations, which include the Panthéon, the Seven Sisters cliffs in Sussex, and the center of a highway in Los Angeles, and then handed over enlarged prints to the artists. Once their additions were complete, he returned to the original sites and documented the altered images against the original backdrop. Playful and imaginative, the juxtaposed photos envision “a parallel universe where (artists) have complete artistic freedom.”

Shop the limited-edition prints and find behind-the-scenes looks at Ford’s process on his site.

An image of a man watering the water of a dam on a photo of a dam, in front of the dam
Levalet, Brighton Marina, U.K.
An image of a character hanging from the edge of the Pantheon on a photo of the Pantheon, in front of the Pantheon
Ador, The Pantheon, Paris
An image of a three-dimensional geometric sculpture jutting off a building on a photo of the building, in front of the building
Peeta, Shoreham Cement Works
A mural of penguins hanging off the side of the cliff on a photo of the cliff, in front of the cliff
Ador, Seven Sisters, U.K.
An image of typographic murals on a facade on a photo of the building, in front of the building
Denis Meyers, National Theatre London
A mural in the middle of a viaduct on a photo of the viaduct, position in front of the viaduct
JanIsDeMan, Balcome Viaduct, U.K.
An image typographic murals on the median of a busy highway on a photo of the highway, in front of the highway
Morley, Los Angeles

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