LEGO Man Driving Through Brick Wall Is Named Illusion Of The Year

Ready to get your eyes bamboozled beyond the realm of photorealistic AI art? Cue the “illusions of the year,” as named by the Museum of Illusions, a chain that runs 40 eye-tripping locations around the world.

Building its way to the top is an optical trick of a LEGO car. Entitled Platform 9 3/4s, the illusion by Matt Pritchard from the UK shows a minifigure seamlessly driving through a solid brick wall inspired by the one in the Harry Potter franchise.

Hogwarts sorcery isn’t to thank for the anamorphic stunt, but a “car-sized hole” that’s masterfully disguised with a matching illustration on the floor.

“When viewed from one perspective, the vertical bricks and horizontal bricks line up and appear to be one solid wall,” writes the creator, who combined light, color, and size variations in the bricks to pull off this camouflage.

To fully accomplish the effect, Pritchard lined the edge of the shadow, where the beam ends, to appear like the edges of the solid structure.

The runner-up is the Tower of Cubes?, designed by John Salmon from the US. It features two stacks of perfect-looking, 3D-printed cubes. When the creator places a wooden stick into both towers, the stick expectedly goes right through one of the structures but weaves through the skeleton of the other.

The observer eventually finds out that the tower on the right is a mirage—it’s made up of misshapen objects, instead of perfect cubes.

In third place is Cornelia, a spooky sculpture by US-based artist Wendy van Boxtel that expands from the old technique of making portraits look like they’re staring at you. Instead of just following you with her eyes, however, Cornelia also moves her hair and face deep within the painting.

Boxtel says she worked with “many materials, colors, and depth” over several months before achieving this eerie effect. With that said, she notes that not everyone would be fooled by this work, as this optical phenomenon, known as a hollow face illusion, is often used to diagnose schizophrenia. Patients with the condition “have a disconnect from what the eyes see and from what the brain is thinking, and are not capable [of seeing] the illusion,” notes the artist.

Head here to view all 10 finalists from this year’s Illusion of the Year contest, which spotlights a mix of visual and audio trickery.

[via IFLScience and Kottke.org, cover photo 164535343 © Ekaterina79 | Dreamstime.com]