Stone by Stone: Justin Bateman’s Incredible Pebble Portraits in Thailand (12 Photos)

Justin Bateman makes amazing art using stones and pebbles.

His portraits capture the feelings and stories of his subjects while showing how temporary art can be. He creates his works outside, and over time, nature takes them back.

More from Justin Bateman: Webpage // Instagram // Facebook

More Land Art: 20 Pics Of Land Art Sculptures by Jon Foreman

---

One of his coolest pieces is “George Washingstone.”

He made it in Bangkok, Thailand, with stones he found by a railway. Bateman joked, “I did have to wash the stones,” showing how much care he puts into his art. This portrait of George Washington mixes history and nature in a really creative way.

---

---

‘Paper money has had the effect that it will ever have, to ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open the door to every species of fraud and injustice.’ – George Washington

‘Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.’ –Henry David Thoreau

---

‘Grace’

‘Peace isn’t an experience free of challenges, free of rough and smooth, it’s an experience that’s expansive enough to include all that arises without feeling threatened.’ – Pema Chödrö

Justin Bateman: My work is not political, but the context is inherent in every portraits physiognomy. ‘Grace’ is based on a photograph by Oleg Doroshenko, ‘Myanmar old lady’.

---

‘Fisherman’

‘The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope’. – John Buchan

---

‘Refugee 1’

‘The aim is not to make a portrait, it is to express the soul of a subject, however briefly’. – Justin Bateman

Justin Bateman: Where do we belong? It can be hard to know, but most of us have a place we call home. Others lack both material and spiritual homes, taking temporary refuge where they can… Those who were simply born in the wrong place at the wrong time. The forgotten faces series of ‘Refugees’ explores the brevity of belonging for those people who’s name and fate is unknown. Inspired by a photograph of Burmese Refugees in Thailand, with the kind permission of Christian Bobst.

---

‘Refugee 2’

Justin Bateman: Help Myanmar end the violence and restore democracy by donating to the interim government CRPH.

---

‘Mandela Mandala’

‘During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.’ – Nelson Mandela

Justin Bateman: In collaboration with the earth, these momentary reflections sometimes represent our human ideals. But they are only ever allegories for something far greater…. To witness a love that will outlive any object.

---

‘Masonry Messiah’

“Faith is a place of mystery, where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see and the strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty” – Brené Brown

Justin Bateman: Stones have illustrated core concepts in spiritual teachings for centuries. Whilst creating the mosaics it is possible to achieve a contemplative state of heightened awareness and meditation. In this discipline there is freedom. The stones are integral to my practice whereby the medium is very much the message.

---

‘La Scapigliata’

‘I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than closed by belief’. – Gerry Spence

---

More Land Art: 15 Mind-Blowing Land Art Creations by Jon Foreman You Have to See

---

What do you think about the land art by Justin Bateman? Should we do a part 2 of his newer artworks?