The Stone Forest or Shilin is a notable set of limestone formations located in Shilin Yi Autonomous County, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China, near Shilin approximately 120 km (75 mi) from the provincial capital Kunming. The tall rocks seem to emanate from the ground in the manner of stalagmites, with many looking like petrified trees thereby creating the illusion of a forest made of stone. Since 2007, two parts of the site, the Naigu Stone Forest (乃古石林) and Suogeyi Village (所各邑村), have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the South China Karst.

These amazing photographs of buildings in Hong Kong transform what is actually a concrete jungle into scenes of immense beauty. The optical illusions taken by landscape photographer Peter Stewart, show the city in a totally different, colorful light, despite it being one of the most overcrowded cities in the world. Photo: Colorful block of apartments in Hong Kong at night. (Photo by Peter Stewart/Caters News)

Born in 1958 in Kiev, Ukraine, artist Mark Khaisman studied Art and Architecture at the Moscow Architectural Institute in Russia. Now living in Philadelphia, USA, Khaisman uses rolls of brown packaging tape to create incredible works of art. Mark characterizes his work as ‘pictorial illusions formed by light and shadow’. The three key elements are: translucent packing tape, clear acrylic or film panels, and light. By superimposing layers of packaging tape Mark can ‘play on degrees of opacity that produces transparencies highlighted by the color, shading, and embossment’.

Dutch artist Suzan Drummen‘s large-scale floor installations are mesmerizing and complex circular patterns made out of mirrors and brightly colored glass. The fractal-like arrangements feature ornate and elaborate circles growing exponentially out of each other and vibrant rings of spiraling colors winding into the surface of the floor. They are composed of crystals, chromed metal, precious stones, mirrors and optical glass. A sensory experience, and visually stimulating, the glittering installations play with the architecture of the space — climbing up walls and sweeping across the surfaces — examining the idea of illusion and optical effects.

Artists called “Le couple en chocolat” take part in the festival “Statues en Marche” in Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium, July 22, 2018. Living statues are a common sight in many city centres, but it is rare to see such a diverse range of this peculiar form of street art for which performers must keep still for painfully long periods of time to create the desired illusion. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

In this Sunday June 13, 1988 file photo West German police officers arrest an English soccer hooligan who sticks out his tongue. Rioting broke out between some 100 hooligans and the police in downtown Stuttgart, West Germany following the European Soccer Championships match between England and Ireland. England was defeated by Ireland 0-1. (Photo by Kraufmann/AP Photo/File)

Street art started out as unintelligible words written on concrete walls with spray paint by gang members or silly kids. Now, however, it evolved into a unique form of art that might stun and inspire awe in the onlookers. For example, the artist that goes by the name 1010 specializes in creating optical illusions. His creations look like portals into other dimensions, without any hint that it might simply be a flat concrete wall painted over with multicolored paints. These pieces of art are so good that it is hard not to reach out into these ‘holes’ to find out whether or not they are real. (Photo by 1010)