Artist’s prank photoshops unsuspecting Swedes into living bus stop ads

Ever had a feeling somebody was watching you? If you were in Solna, Sweden recently, you may not have just been channeling 1980s one-hit wonder Rockwell. It's possible you were part of a quirky guerilla art project by Swedish photographer and retouching artist Erik Johansson, in cooperation with Adobe. (But in true Candid Camera fashion there's a punchline reveal at the end, so you are likely already in on the joke.)

Johansson hit the streets of Solna with a Photoshop-equipped van, and replaced the advertising billboards in a city bus stop with LCD panels. Before each unwitting participant arrived, the LCD panels were set to show a typical advertisement. But then, thanks to an image of each mark surreptitiously shot from the van with a Canon digital SLR and a telephoto lens, plus a little digital imaging magic, the subjects of the project soon found their own likenesses peering back at them from each display -- and their reactions are predictably hilarious.

The project took place as part of Adobe's Creative Days tour, which has been criss-crossing Europe, the Middle East and Africa for the last three weeks. The tour still has stops to come in Paris, Stockholm, Berlin, Amsterdam, Zurich, and Cologne before it closes in Munich on June 20th. More details on the Adobe Creative Days website.

(via Gizmodo)