what would a rule-free world for street artists, regardless of scale, safety or access, look like?

a world by Joseph Ford where street art has no boundaries

Following his previous project, a photo series with models intricately camouflaged into their surroundings, Joseph Ford now returns with his ‘Impossible Street Art’. This new project envisions a world where street art has no limits. For his latest series, the London-based photographer has collaborated with seven street artists from all over the world — including Ador, Denis Meyers, JanlsDeMan, Levalet, Morley, Peeta, and Victoria Villasana — pushing the boundaries of traditional street art by envisioning a world where any surface is a canvas. (See Peeta’s large-scale anamorphic murals in our previous article here).

The project began by capturing inaccessible public spaces such as the Panthéon in Paris, Arènes de Picasso in Noisy-le-Grand, France, and Seven Sisters Cliffs in Sussex. The resulting photographic prints taken by himself were then enlarged and given to the artists to paint or draw their own unique creations on top of the initial background. According to Ford, the result offers a glimpse into a playful and creative parallel universe where street artists have complete artistic freedom. ‘My starting point was to imagine if street artists could work on any surface, not restricted by scale, accessibility, safety, or rules.’

all images by Joseph Ford, painting by Victoria Villasana

handmade artwork with no digital manipulation

After the playful additions to the initial prints, Joseph Ford continued his creative process by photographing each final piece on an easel in its original location. This showcased an alternate reality that street artists could bring to life without having any constraints.

As the photographer underlined, these images are handmade and were produced without the use of CGI or Photoshop. Ford has revealed that the project faced numerous challenges, including artwork being blown over by strong winds, encounters with security guards, and multiple visits to certain locations to ensure the lighting and sky matched the original photograph. However, it was worth all the effort!

painting by Ador