If you’ve ridden the A, C, or E train to Chambers Street in NYC, or ever waited for one of those trains underground, you’ve probably noticed a bunch of eyeballs staring at you.

I’ve always found these mosaic eyes to be quite intriguing, and it wasn’t until recently while writing an article for Parachute by Mapquest that I discovered these eyes were modeled after 1,200 real New Yorkers. Pretty much all eye shapes and colors are represented in Oculus, which makes sense due to the large group of eyes they were able to use as inspiration. 

The collection of eyes is called Oculus, and its a collaboration between artists Kristen Jones and Andrew Ginzel. Roman mosaicist Rinaldo Piras also teamed up with Jones and Ginzel for the project.

It’s interesting to wonder if my eye would have been recreated with or without my glasses had I been part of the 1,200 New Yorkers these eyes were modeled after.

Learn more about Oculus here.