Cafes and garage roller doors and hotels around Surry Hills and Darlinghurst have been tattooed with a round face with a laughing, open mouth.

This one’s on Whittel Street, Surry Hills. The cheeky thing has two horns, dimples and a cross on its forehead – there might be a goatee in the mix, too.

But there are plenty of these hexes – and they really do look like bad luck stamps – around town.

There’s a hex on the wall of Recess cafe, Burton Street. There’s another on Sandwell Street, across from the Cricketer’s Arms hotel. The Hopetoun hotel got a stamp, though I think it came after the veteran indie rock venue shut.

This one’s on West Street, Darlinghurst, across the road from Bills cafe.

What would bring someone to hex the entire neighbourhood – bad coffee, messy break-up?