News

A guy got an optical illusion tattoo that makes it look like there's a huge hole in his arm

optical illusion tattoo thumbnails
Optical illusion tattoos have gone viral. RedHood000/Reddit; Paul O'Rourke Tattoos/Facebook
Read in app
  • There's a viral tattoo on Reddit that's designed as an optical illusion.
  • It looks like an infinitely deep hole on someone's arm.
  • It's far from the other optical illusion tattoo to go viral in the past few years.
  • Other, similar ones take inspiration from classic works of art.

 

There' a viral tattoo on Reddit that looks like an infinitely deep hole — and it's freaky.

The optical illusion tattoo was posted to the Damnthatsinteresting subreddit, but it's not clear who the artist is.

reddit optical illusion tattoo hole
The tattoo looks like an infinitely deep hole.  RedHood000/Reddit

Though it's drawn on a relatively flat surface, the tattoo looks like it has depth because of the progressively smaller rectangles that give it shape. It's an illusion similar to infinity mirrors, where a repeated surface looks progressively smaller until it seems to go on forever.

And it's not the only optical illusion tattoo. A few years ago on Reddit, someone posted a tattoo made by the illustrator Paul O'Rourke, which went viral on the site. It resembles a spiraling column surrounded by space. Really, it's just an arm.

paul o'rourke optical illusion tattoo
Paul O'Rourke plays with geometry in some of his tattoo designs.  Paul O'Rourke Tattoos/Facebook

Another optical illusion tattoo that went viral on Reddit a few months ago, was designed by the artist Pablo Garcia. It's called "Memento Mori."

It's a skull inked on a forefinger. When the finger is extended directly upwards, the skull appears distorted. When the finger points toward you, the skull looks normal.

memento mori pablo garcia skull tattoo
Pablo Garcia designed this tattoo, called "Memento Mori."  Pablo Garcia/Kickstarter

It's an homage to the 1533 painting "The Ambassadors" by Hans Holbein, which features a similarly distorted skull in the foreground.

hans holbein the ambassadorsweb
Hans Holbein painted "The Ambassadors" in 1533. There's a weird skull in the lower foreground.  Google Art Project/Wikimedia Commons

At a different angle, the skull looks normal.

Holbein Skull
The "Holbein Skull."  Wikimedia Commons

Sign up here to get INSIDER's favorite stories straight to your inbox.

Read the original article on INSIDER.

Follow INSIDER on Facebook.

Follow INSIDER on Twitter.

Read next

Jacob Shamsian author profile headshot
Jacob Shamsian
Jacob Shamsian is a correspondent on Business Insider's Enterprise news desk. He is also a Global Reporter for Axel Springer.He was previously on BI's Legal Affairs desk, covering major litigation, courtroom trials, and the legal industry.Jacob has reported on the criminal trials of Donald TrumpGhislaine Maxwell, Sam Bankman-Fried, Sean "Diddy" CombsR. Kelly, and Anna Sorokin (AKA Anna Delvey), He's also covered blockbuster civil trials, including both E. Jean Carroll v. Trump trials, the New York Attorney General's fraud trial against TrumpSarah Palin v. The New York Times, and Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard.His stories have been cited in judicial rulings, lawsuits, letters from congressional committees, and in numerous media publications. He was a pool reporter in Donald Trump's Manhattan criminal trial.Jacob has been interviewed on CNN, the docuseries "Surviving R. Kelly," ABC's "Good Morning America," and BBC News, among other programs. His work has been cited by media outlets, including The New York Times, Bloomberg News, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, and New York magazine. He's also written for GQ, The Awl, The New Republic, Entertainment Weekly, Time, and Modern Farmer.You can reach Jacob on Signal at JacobShamsian.07.