Last year, the city of Seaside, California, ordered a homeowner to build a fence to cover up his boat and so the man complied with the letter of the law, but not the spirit. While he built the fence, he also hired a local artist to paint a life-life mural of his boat.
Homeowner Etienne Constable explained to local media that he commissioned the mural to make a "political" and "humorous" and "creative" statement. While the order was a bit annoying, he described the mural as his First Amendment right.
Since the artist finished painting this epic troll job last week, images of his work have gone viral. Constable said the reaction has been "more than we ever expected and we're both just tickled about it." He added: "I'm all in favor of generating a discussion and making people smile."
The artist, which also happened to be his neighbor, Hanif Panni, wrote on social media that Constable proposed the "sassy idea" to him after "reluctantly building the fence."
On social media, the city explained that the man was ordered to comply with the municipal code to hide his boat with a fence and he did, albeit creatively. "He turned lemons into lemonade and had his artist neighbor paint a hyper-realistic mural of the boat on the fence itself! The result? A optical illusion and a whole lot of media attention," the city said.
