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Visual Effects Artist Creates Mind-Boggling Illusions Using Everyday Objects

By Emma Taggart on May 22, 2021

Street art is getting out of hand [OC]

While most people see everyday life as routine, visual effects artist Kevin Lustgarten sees ample opportunity for creativity. He uses digital tools to transform seemingly normal videos of mundane objects and environments into jaw-dropping illusions that seem to magically appear before your very eyes.

In one viral video, Lustgarten pans out from a spray-painted image of a shopping trolley on concrete. As the camera moves back, the whole picture emerges and becomes increasingly realistic before appearing to become the real object itself. The transition from street art to an actual shopping trolley is so smooth that it’s impossible to spot when it happens. Lustgarten posted the video with the caption, “Street art is getting a little too realistic these days.”

Lustgarten has a knack for creating videos that seamlessly shift from reality to the surreal all in one shot. In another post, he created an uninterrupted loop of an avocado morphing into its pit, then switching back into its full form. Lustgarten will often feature himself in his own videos. In one of them, he’s seen going down an escalator before suddenly becoming part of the moving stairs. One minute he’s a living person, the next he appears as a mere pasted image that disappears as the rotating stairs collapse, leaving only his empty shoes behind.

Scroll down to check out some of Lustgarten's most mind-boggling visual effects and find more from his portfolio on Instagram.