Snapchat’s Jeff Koons AR artwork project

A giant metallic bunny may not be the first thing you associate with the Eiffel Tower, but a new AR project will see the two stand side by side. 

Snapchat is working with renowned Jeff Koons, famed for his balloon animal sculptures, according to leaked information.

The feature, which is due to be officially announced later today, will allow visitors at world monuments to view works by the pop culture inspired American.

News of the project came to light after Snapchat Twitter representatives began to share a URL to a new site art.snapchat.com.

Visitors to the secretive site are shown a countdown that coincides with a rare public appearance from CEO Evan Spiegel at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment conference being held in Los Angeles.

But a technical oversight by Snapchat allowed users to bypass the time restrictions placed on the site, by setting the clocks on their computers for a time after the countdown was due to end.

This is a fairly basic hack that tricks websites into thinking its a future date. 

Once the countdown timer was removed, it revealed an image of Koons’ iconic poodle balloon animal.

A video interview with the artist was also available with some background about his work, but has since been taken down.

Other famous examples of his work taken from both the site and video have since been shared widely on social media. 

News of the project came to light after Snapchat Twitter representatives began to share a URL to a new site art.snapchat.com. It displayed a countdown timer that coincides with a rare public appearance from CEO Evan Spiegel at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment conference

A technical oversight by Snapchat allowed users to bypass the time restrictions. Once the countdown timer was removed, it revealed an image of Koons’ iconic poodle balloon animal

The feature, which is due to be officially announced later today, will allow visitors to world monuments and other locations to view works by the pop culture inspired American artists, as well as lesser known creatives

Locations where Koons’ art will be on display include Hyde Park in London, the Champ de Mars in Paris, Central Park in New York and Sydney Opera House.

Snapchat was quick to respond to the error, but once the metaphorical rabbit was of the hat the information quickly spread online.

The LA-based firm is not currently commenting on the project, but more information is expected when the timer runs out at 8pm BST (3pm ET).

From the leaked images, it appears that Jeff Koons artworks will be visible through the social media apps camera in select locations.

Among them are his sculpture of Popeye, a balloon swan and a giant ball of Plasticine.

This includes Hyde Park in London, the Champ de Mars in Paris, Central Park in New York and Sydney Opera House. 

The LA-based firm is not currently commenting on the project, but more information is expected when the timer runs out. Koons’ balloon dog is likely to be visible to visitor’s to Manhattan’s Central Park

This image shows his pile of Plasticine work on Venice Boardwalk in LA

Among other works are his sculpture of Popeye, depicted in front of the Sydney opera house

A balloon swan is shown outside the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas

Snap is also opening the feature to other artists, who can can sign up to have their works displayed as 3D objects via the app.

This could be tied into the Snap Map function.

The feature is believed to be powered by the same engine as its World Lens’, which garnered over 1.5 billion views on Snapchat for a dancing hot dog.

Snap’s new Sponsored World Lens ads also use the same technology. 

A video interview with the artist was also available with some background about his work, but has since been taken down

Snap is also opening the feature to other artists, who can can sign up to have their works displayed as 3D objects via the app