3D street art competition in Ilfracombe

THE CAPACIOUS paved areas of Ilfracombe's seafront, the Quay, the Cove and High Street are the perfect canvas for a spot of street art — with a difference.

Ilfracombe's Strategy Group has put forward the idea of a National Street Art Competition which will evolve into an annual event, attracting artists and visitors from far and wide.

Town councillor Ron Ley said: "I was particularly struck by the 3-D pavement art which portrays some incredibly dramatic and life-like scenes. And as we have such huge areas of public realm, some sort of national festival would attract a whole raft of people who have never been to Ilfracombe before."

Artists like Julian Beever and Edgar Mueller have made the art of three-dimensional optical illusions an international odyssey — where cars fall into the Earth's core, crocodiles wait in waterfall pools and giant bottles of whisky look like they have thumped to the ground and semi-sunk into the pavement.

Above: YouTube: The Crevasse - Making of 3D Street Art

Cllr Ley said: "The images can only be seen as 3D from a certain angle — I can just see people standing at the top of Capstone to view them!"

Below: YouTube: This Will Blow you Away parts 1 and 2

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Cllr Ley admits there are practicalities: "We would have to get a lot of private sponsorship. as this would be a commercial venture, and we would need to encourage the artists to come, to capture their imagination, so they want to come here.

"And we would have to provide a prize and perhaps accommodation for the artists."