Image: Julien Celdran
Satellite dishes have bestowed a plethora of marvels upon the modern world, aiding in space exploration, allowing for increased security from military attack, and of course, helping to provide an amazing choice of television services from all over the globe! However, despite the fantastic range of TV that satellite dishes help to offer, not everyone is keen on their appearance. Or maybe it’s just a question of people feeling the need to personalize the dish that brings so much…
Image: Julien Celdran
The following images show the imagination employed and the artistic efforts that some have gone to in order to conceal these symbols of the modern age. We bring you the ten most awesomely disguised satellite dishes we could find.
10. Smileys
Image: Manfred Werner
These two happy satellite dishes show what is possible when you put a smile on something’s face! The first is to be found at the alternative cultural center known as the Arena, in Vienna, Austria, where we’re sure it fits in just fine!
Image: Mju Tabor
The second smiley dish, meanwhile, was snapped in Heidelberg, Germany. Guaranteed to cheer up those who keep their eyes peeled, these dishes create a welcome break from the usually somewhat grayer appearance of satellite dishes! Great idea!
9. Brickwork
Image: Blasius Bojthe
Here are a couple of awesome dishes sharing a similar idea, the first of which comes to us from London, England. Cleverly camouflaged — they actually blend in with their respective brick walls — these dishes show what is possible with some skill and no small amount of imagination.
Image: Richard Holt
Okay, okay — you’ve got us — the first of these brickwork-painted TV satellite dishes is actually a Photoshop job, and we kind of suspect the second of these is, too. Then again, one can never be sure. What do you think?
8. Sundial
Image: Giovanni Dall
This beautifully altered — and creatively repurposed — satellite dish can be found in Taormina, Sicily. Painted to look like a sundial, it bears the inscription “Pigghia e potta,” which means, “Get it and take it away.” We hope no one heeds this command, as we think it looks great just where it is! (The message actually refers to the Sicilian sunshine!) We wonder if this dish-cum-sundial actually can tell the time as well as receive a signal…
7. Easel Job
Image: Anne Murphy
Displaying the artistic lengths that truly creative individuals sometimes go to, this delightful effort looks perfectly at home outside with its depiction of the great outdoors. Sitting in a relaxed spot in the garden, this painted and wonderfully “scenic” dish certainly looks more at ease-l than in its usual habitat on the side of a building!
6. Sqish
Image: Sqish
“When is a dish not a dish? When it’s a Sqish!” reads the tagline of this product, which comes to us from England. The Sqish is a kind of satellite dish created to be as discreet as possible.
Image: Sqish
Whether it’s in the form of the awesome dish pictured above or one of the many other cool designs, Sqishes have been made to blend in with their environment as much as possible. Calling this disguise technique “sqishoflage,” the makers clearly have some interesting ideas on how to make the outward appearance of satellite dishes more interesting!
5. Almost Overgrown
Image: Amund Nedland
Peeking out of the corner of this cool picture is an all but hidden satellite dish. Found perched on the roof of a building in Bergen, Norway, the dish is surrounded by dense vegetation — which has totally covered the brickwork — but it has somehow managed to stay just about in sight. Great image!
4. CIA Smiley
Image: Melissa Nysewander
Another smiley face next, this one found on the satellite dish of a former CIA tracking system. Apparently, the Americans knew that the system was under Soviet surveillance, so they went and painted on the big smiling face! Well, anything that brightens up the world just that little bit is good by us. A bit of humor certainly couldn’t have done the Cold War any harm!
3. Suburban Camouflage
Image: Copyright 2010 Raymond D Andrews Jr
Next up, we have an awesome image of a truly blink-and-you’ll-miss-it satellite dish. Secreted away in the garden, this dish is decorated with the green foliage pattern of the garden hedge around it and is definitely blending in with its environment! Where is it again?
2. Let’s Dance
Image: Mary Hockenbery
Another beautiful display of artistic ability, this dish is brightened up by the joyful depiction of a dancing couple. In actual fact, it’s not a working satellite dish but rather a super clever way to recycle one — turning it into a garden feature that makes you totally forget its former purpose. If only all technological accessories looked so good!
1. Custom Created
Image: Julien Celdran
Artist Julien Celdran has worked with satellite dishes on two separate occasions — in 2003, in neighborhoods north of the French town of Borges, and more recently in Brussels, Belgium, in 2010-2011 — and we’ll think you’ll agree, the results are pretty spectacular. Interestingly, the designs were not painted on but instead were digitally printed onto stickers, and the project was a collaborative one, completed with the help of the residents.
Image: Julien Celdran
The people chose the ornamental decorations based on decorative objects from inside their homes — from fabrics and jewelery to carpets and curtains. Aiming to take “good taste” outdoors to address the local community while publicly representing cultural and individual difference, the project is also a perfect example of brightening up the environment. Magnifique!
Image: Julien Celdran
