These Instagram Photos Get One-Upped By Hilarious Art Inserts

Instagram filters are so overdone. Anyone can select “Sutro,” “Earlybird,” or the new “Ludwig” (or the much-maligned “Kelvin”) and give a snapshot some Insta-flair. London-based Brazilian artist Lucas Levitan decided to go a step further with his Instagramming. In his series, Photo Invasion, Levitan uses other peoples’ Instagram photos but adds his own twist. He incorporates tongue-in-cheek cartoon figures that change the story behind the picture into something else completely. This way, a triumphant skier becomes a marionette, a man in what looks like a hot spring gains two curious companions, and giant slugs invade a city sidewalk.

Aside from the fact that the results are quite funny, there’s also a deeper concept that goes into Levitan’s work. He focuses on the nature of how we are perceived on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook can be altered or reinterpreted very easily. Levitan also touches on the fact that the material we put into the world, digitally or otherwise, can be repurposed by anyone at any time. It’s also a commentary on how other people might see your photos–that picture of your dramatic yoga pose on the beach? You’re now supporting an odd, hippo-like creature. A walk in a sculpture garden becomes fraught with danger. And yes, he credits his source material. Luckily for the Instagrammers whose work he’s appropriated, Levitan’s work is lighthearted and funny, and it’s fun to see how someone else reinterprets your own experience.

You can see more of Levitan’s projects on his website and, of course, on Instagram. You might want to check back if you’re an avid Instagrammer to see if he’s used you as inspiration.

(via Sad and Useless)