This artist turns everyday items into hilarious optical illusions

Scrolling through my Instagram recommendations the other day, a strange horse appeared on my timeline. It was made of clothes on a clothing line; it made me smile and made me curious about the artist behind it. And that’s how I discovered Helga Stentzel. She creates fun and quirky images from everyday stuff, turning something we see every day into photos we definitely don’t see every day. Her photos amazed me and amused me, and she kindly shared some of them with DIYP readers.

Helga is a visual artist who was born in Russia but is currently based in London, UK. She works in a wide range of media: photography, illustration, video, and stop motion animation. She even combines them together, which is obvious in her work. Other than still images, you’ll sometimes see fun animations on her profile, too:

Helga often arranges the scene and takes the photo herself. Alternatively, she draws on the photos that she took. And occasionally, she also uses stock images for additional details.

One of Helga’s superpowers is to “turn a pile of laundry into a horse,” which is what I learned that day when I stumbled upon that photo she took. But I’d say that another superpower of hers is an imagination of a child. She sees the invisible and turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. With her images, she makes dull everyday life a little more fun, playful, and colorful.

Take a look at more of Helga’s super-fun photos below. And of course, check out more of her work on her website, Facebook and Instagram, and visit her web store for prints.