AN ANONYMOUS street artist has ‘switched’ it up for their latest project injecting ‘absurd fun’ into the city streets of Oxford.

Light switches have popped up around the city centre adorning bus stops, tourist signs, underpasses, pillars and postboxes.

The Plaster of Paris pieces have been installed by the artist known only as @Athirty4 on Twitter – the same prankster who added 'Gotham City' and 'Middle Earth' to road signs in Didcot last year.

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The Oxfordshire-based artist said: "For me, the light switches act as a memento mori (a reminder of death).

"One moment we’re alive (switched on), the next we’re non-existent (switched off)."

Oxford Mail:

They said the idea was borne from the loss of a family member and close friends, and helped channel the feeling of grief into something creative.

Unlike some of Athirty4's previous works, such as a Plaster of Paris Polo mint glued to a wall in Oxford, the light switches are not accompanied by any kind of explanation.

The freelance designer said: "I wanted observers to project their own meaning on such an everyday household appliance, which most of us take for granted."

Oxford Mail:

They added: "I did hear one tourist say ‘is that the light switch that they will turn off after Brexit?’

"Another person said ‘so many decisions are made at the flick of a switch’: I sort of like the way that the switches can be interpreted in a whole medley of ways."

Onlookers can find the amusing artworks around the city centre including one close to Magdalen Bridge and another outside the Kings Arms in Broad Street.

One Twitter user who spotted the switches tweeted a message to the artist, saying: “I just found your light switches today and nearly cried with laughter, thank you for injecting a little absurd fun onto the streets.”

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It is not the first time @Athirty4 has put a smile on the faces of passersby.

Last year he prompted confusion and mirth after adding routes such as Gotham City, Narnia, and Neverland to road signs in Didcot.

Other works have included installing plastic Polo mints around Oxfordshire, a recent one acting as a halo above a picture of young climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.