"Clean lungs" designed by Bristol sculptor and installation artist Luke Jerram have appeared around the city ato raise awareness of an anti-pollution campaign.
The images appeared over the weekend on walls and pavements around the city, including outside City Hall, as part of an art-inspired publicity stunt by the anti-pollution Our Air Our City campaign.
The striking images have been made overnight by members of the campaign, with a technique known as “reverse graffiti.”
In a statement, the group said: "A stencil is used to selectively clean away accumulated dirt and grime, creating a graphic illustration of the damage caused by the city’s air pollution.
"The stencil for this artwork was designed by the internationally-recognised Bristol sculptor and installation artist Luke Jerram.
"Bristol residents may remember him best for his celebrated 'Play Me, I’m Yours' street pianos, thousands of which have been installed around the world, as well as for the giant Park Street Slide he masterminded in 2014, and his eerily 'abandoned' fishing boats in Leigh Woods."
The group said many of Luke Jerram’s works focus on nature and science - including his 2020 glass sculpture of COVID-19.
Mr Jerram said: “Most graffiti uses toxic spray painting materials, but the clean air campaigners are cleaning off pollution to make the imagery.
"They're cleaning up the city and making art from the absence of dirt and pollution!
“Now is the time for real leadership on all forms of air pollution, which includes cleaning up the city’s air, and preventing the expansion of Bristol Airport.”
The group said studies have shown that airborne pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 damage lungs and can lead to respiratory illnesses, as well as increased risk from COVID-19.
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It added air pollution in Bristol has been above legal limits for many years, causing 300 “excess deaths” every year.
Bedminster GP Dr Patrick Hart is amongst those who have committed their support to the Our Air Our City campaign, to pressure the city’s governing bodies to take urgent and radical action on Bristol’s unsafe air quality.
Dr Hart says: “The City Council have been dealing with a huge health crisis this past year.
"But our polluted air is another health crisis that has been going on for years - it’s just killing us more quietly.”
