This is the fascinating street art by German duo Hera and Akut, collectively known as Herakut. Their art tells mini stories using intriguing visuals and snippets of dialogue. They seem like single panels from graphic novels; you just know there’s more to the story. Here’s how their collaboration works:

“Hera is a classically trained painter who creates gestural, emotional figures in a freestyle manner using numerous tools including spray cans, brushes, and her hands. Akut is a self-taught painter who is skilled in creating hyper-realistic images of animals and flesh using only a spray can. What initially seemed like an unlikely pairing both conceptually and technically has since become one of the foremost collaborations in urban art and an innovative presence in contemporary painting.”
–Vertical Gallery

Their work is both brutal and deeply sensitive. It’s like all their characters have had a hard life but are extraordinarily self aware. Those eyes . . . I really recommend that you click on these images and look at them in greater detail. They really are remarkable.