Do you remember a time when telephone booths were commonplace? When was the last time you used a public telephone, let alone a pay phone that lived inside a transparent little room of its own? Phone booths have become a relic and a mysterious five-member Japanese art collective, known only as Kingyobu (meaning “goldfish club”), is transforming these relics into awesome works of art. 

The goldfish tank phone booths have been popping up on the streets of Osaka, Japan: 

“Details remain murky – like, why? – but the group seems to have debuted their contraption at an art festival in late 2011, and have gone on to install several others throughout 2012.

Spectators have pointed out that it appears as if the goldfish are sandwiched between 2 sheets of glass, making for a cruel yet visually stunning functional phone booth. But that does not seem to be the case. Based on the making-of images, these are actual fish tanks.”

[via Spoon & Tamago]

“Using antique cash registers, telephones, beer taps, hammer-formed steel and other repurposed objects, artist Greg Brotherton constructs creepy, ghoulish sculptures that appear as if born from a collaboration between Tim Burton and Edouard Martinet.”

Check out more of of Greg’s awesome work here!

[via Colossal]