Magical optical illusion shows a train station photograph hiding the face of iconic Beatles star

Artists use dots, patterns, and colors to create things that often make people question what they see. From the infamous “The Dress” illusion to nature’s fata morgana illusion which makes things appear to hover in space, the world is brimming with optical illusions, many of which are being circulated on the internet. One person named Timor O’Seery (@seery_o) brought attention to another mind-bending optical illusion an unknown artist had created using a mix of photography and AI. The photograph he shared on X left over 1.8 million people rolling their eyes and squinting hard. The photograph is of Liverpool’s Lime Street Station, and within it, hides a stunning face.

Timor asked his followers to take a focused look at the puzzling photograph, and see something. “Have a look and then squint your eyes and look again,” he wrote in the tweet. The first look at the photograph reveals nothing but a regular station’s premises with people roaming all around, with signboards dotted here and there. However, when looked at from a distance, the photograph hides the face of an iconic Beatles star.

While some people spotted it right away, others saw different things hidden in the photo. @psychologiscal said, that when they looked at the photograph, they first thought it was a “white cat.” Many people weren’t even able to spot the silhouette of the face at all. @barbarossaoz shared a grid of tiny-sized versions of this photograph which quickly gave away its secret.

The secret face that hides in the photograph belongs to the legendary John Lennon of The Beatles. While his signature mop-top “puddin’-basin” pop hairstyle emerges out of the outline of the colossal arched entrance of the station, the black bottom posts supporting the archway from his shoulders. The innards of the station, with its glossy floor and people wandering about, form his face. The shadow of a steel signboard gives the illusion of his nose. A hoard of people on the right side gives the illusion of one of his eyes. The rest of the colors flashing from the photograph give the illusion as if Lennon’s silhouette is illuminated with colorful lights.

People were perplexed and stunned noticing Lennon’s face hidden in the brilliant photograph. But once they saw it, they couldn’t unsee it. People commented about the photograph saying it is “brilliant,” “magical,” “amazing,” and “somewhere between clever and creepy.” @adekela19 said, “Took 500 miles of driving to get my focus in the right place, now I get it!” @theveganblog commented that they believed that the photograph was not of the actual Lime Street Station but an AI rendition of the same using the visual elements of the station. @rev_elsdon said, “I wonder if this was by design or a happy coincidence. If by design very clever if not just freaky.”

When broken down with science, this photograph demonstrates both the cognitive and literal types of optical illusions. A literal optical illusion is formed by a set of smaller images that make a larger, new image, whereas a cognitive illusion riddles a person’s brain by testing what they see when they focus on an image or visual. In this case, people were required to sense both of these elements, which, most of them did almost instantly after seeing the train station photograph.