Why are so many people videoing a street corner wall?
This is the question I asked out loud last week upon seeing people doing just that in Caloundra, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. We'd headed into a beach town to explore the funky craft, bespoke clothes and delicious food stalls at the Sunday markets on the bustling main street. It's a must!
So is wandering a couple of hundred metres down to Bulcock Beach. Total bliss with pristine clear water that calmly laps at crystal white sand while a vintage ferry tootles along on its journey into one of Australia's biggest dugong sanctuaries - Pumicestone Passage. The water is so clear you can see the fish from far away.
But they are not the fish I'm writing to tell you about, so back to the street mural.
There's no doubt about it - this vibrant painting is worthy of a few snaps in the photo album (oh, how quaint and retro of me) thanks to its whimsical design that cleverly uses contrasting orange flowers and purple fish to draw your eye into the picture. So I wasn't surprised that there were people standing around taking photographs.
But then I realized they were videoing. Huh, what's that about?
THE MURAL REALLY JUMPS OFF THE WALL
No, I'm not pulling your leg - that's its secret. It has jaw-dropping hidden animation, but you can only see it moving when you use a smartphone or tablet!
Don't believe me. Check out my video below of Australian Street Art Awards' Kim walking between the flat painted wall and the augmented reality surface that came to life before my eyes.
Commissioned by the local Sunshine Coast Council to align with the destination's vision to be healthy, smart and creative, the new work is appropriately titled The Looking Glass Fish in the Deep Hue Sea.
It's permanent, so you can see it too when you next visit Caloundra.
And what genius created this virtual trompe l'oeil? Two geniuses, actually. Melbourne-based artist George Rose and digital artist, Sutu, who founded the free EyeJack app that allows you to view the animation from any mobile device.
It probably won't surprise you to know that Sutu's comic book art background and high-tech innovation has seen him become the artist of choice for the likes of Marvel, Google and Disney.
Know anywhere else that has animated street art in Oz? Tell us about it.
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