It might look like a convention for Mr Benn impersonators, but these scenes were actually part of an art installation.

Students from Newington College in Sydney, Australia, donned black suits and bowler hats - the favoured attire of the 1970s cartoon character - for the project.

Getting up at the crack of dawn, the teenage boys, all philosophy students, headed down to Coogee Beach to take part in the human art installation.

They posed, peering through telescopes as they stood in the sea and on the sand.
Life's a beach: The teenagers posed, standing in the sea (
Image:
Getty)

It was part of surrealist artist Andrew Baines' The Search for Happiness installation.
Is that Mr Benn? The boys donned black suits and bowler hats (
Image:
Getty)

The project aims to explore the relationship between art and philosophy and provoke further discussion about the pursuit of happiness in 21st Century Australia
Surreal: It was part of a project called The Search for Happiness (
Image:
Getty)

Newington College is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Stanmore, the heart of Sydney's Inner West.
Down Under: The shots were taken on Coogee Beach in Sydney (
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Getty)

Andrew Baines is an Australian "quasi-surrealist painter and installation artist", best known for his paintings of politicians in exposed positions and bowler-hatted office workers.
Human installation: The project is the work of Andrew Baines (
Image:
Getty)

He is regarded as "one of the most recognisable and collectable of Australia's contemporary artists."

Newington College
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