Street Art Utopia

40 of the Most Loved Photos on Street Art Utopia Right Now

By Vidar

Picked by reader reactions. See the live Top 100

Two photos side by side: Fábio Gomes Trindade’s mural of a smiling girl whose hair is a real bougainvillea in purple bloom, in Trindade, Brazil, and the Fontana Luminosa in L’Aquila, Italy, where sunlight turns the water pouring from the bronze figures’ jar bright orange.

Street art, sculptures and land art, sorted by reader Loves

Every photo on Street Art Utopia has a Love button. These 40 are among the photos readers have Loved the most, listed in order of Loves. To keep the mix varied, we took no more than two photos per artist and four from any one post. First up: a bronze family in Yinchuan, China, that has picked up an extra member.

More: Top 100 Photos This Week

A mural by Fábio Gomes Trindade in Trindade, Brazil, of a smiling girl resting her face on her hand, whose Afro hairstyle is a real bougainvillea tree full of purple flowers.

🌸 Bougainvillea Portrait — By Fábio Gomes Trindade in Trindade, Goiás, Brazil 🇧🇷

In his original post, Fábio places the mural on Rua 6 in Conjunto Arco-Íris, Trindade. Jornal Opção reports that the portrait was inspired by the young model Sarai and uses a lilac bougainvillea as her hair.

💡 Nerd Fact: Bougainvillea’s colorful “petals” are really modified leaves called bracts. Gardens by the Bay explains that the true flowers are the small white or cream ones tucked inside.

More: Nature Meets Art in Brazilian Masterpieces

🔗 Follow Fábio Gomes Trindade on Instagram

Spirit of the Medieval Huntress by Anna & The Willow: a tall woven-willow archer with her bow drawn and a long flowing willow skirt, standing beside a path in Skipton Castle Woods, England.

🏹 Spirit of the Medieval Huntress — By Anna & The Willow at Skipton Castle Woods, England 🇬🇧

Anna Cross made her nine-foot Spirit of the Medieval Huntress for the Woodland Trust at Skipton Castle Woods. According to Sylvan Skills, the 2018 commission recalls the woods’ past as a larder and hunting ground for Skipton Castle.

💡 Restoration Fact: After the original willow wore out, Sylvan Skills rebuilt and rewove the sculptures in 2024. The first new layer was woven in spirals and curves for strength, and the Huntress got a bow shaped more like a traditional yew bow.

More: When Nature Become Art (8 Photos)

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Fontana Luminosa in L’Aquila, Italy: a bronze figure on top of the fountain while sunlight turns the falling water bright orange, like a stream of lava.

🌋 Fontana Luminosa — By Nicola D’Antino in L’Aquila, Italy 🇮🇹

When low sun catches the falling water, it looks like lava. Sculptor Nicola D’Antino made the fountain in the 1930s: two bronze women holding up a conca abruzzese, the region’s traditional water jar. It stands in Piazza Battaglione degli Alpini, at the start of Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

💡 Fountain Fact: The fountain gets its name from the colored lights that play on it at night. In winter, the water pouring from the jar can freeze into a glittering ice sculpture.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsFontana LuminosaNicola D’Antino · 1930s · Piazza Battaglione degli Alpini, L’AquilaBronze group by D’AntinoHolds a conca abruzzeseRestored after 2009 quake1The Ministry of Culture says the fountain was back in full use in December 2016 after restoration following the 2009 earthquake.Ministry of Culture2According to the city’s tourist portal, the water poured from the jar can freeze into a shimmering ice sculpture in winter.City of L’Aquila201623 DecMinistry: back in use20224 AugReddit photo posted202313 AprArtribune guide202522 AprCommons photo, camera date202617 JanQN: drone show at the fountainRead the full file →

More: Fontana Luminosa in L’Aquila, Italy

A little girl in a pink dress stands in a line of bronze children holding hands behind a bronze violinist, part of the Music Unhurried sculpture on Shamian Island in Guangzhou, China.

🎶 “Music Unhurried” (乐韵悠悠) — On Shamian Island, Guangzhou, China 🇨🇳

This bronze group on Shamian Island is called 乐韵悠悠, roughly “Music Unhurried”: a line of children following a violinist. A travel blogger who photographed it noticed the same thing as this photo: a real little girl, smaller than the statues, slipping into the line.

💡 Place Fact: Shamian later became a diplomatic and trading district. Guangzhou’s official city guide records that more than ten countries kept consulates there, alongside nine foreign banks and over forty foreign companies.

More: See What Happens When People Enter the Artwork

Two photos of the same bronze sculpture of children pulling a bronze dog on a leash: in both, a real light-colored Labrador walks up and sniffs the bronze dog’s tail.

🐕 Tug of Dog — Artist Unknown

The bronze children are already pulling hard on the leash. Then a real dog walks in and goes straight for the bronze dog’s tail.

💡 Bronze Fact: Bronze keeps a record of touch. Getty’s guidelines for bronze sculpture note that repeated touching can wear away the patina on raised areas and expose bare metal.

More: Clever Dog Art (10 Photos)

Peeking Cat by Andy Dice Davies in Cheltenham, England: a giant painted tabby cat with wide green eyes peers out from under a brick arch with one paw reaching forward, while a boy in blue stands looking at it.

🐱 “Peeking Cat” — By Andy Dice Davies in Cheltenham, England 🇬🇧

Andy Dice Davies (Dice 67) painted “Peeking cat” under the road at Cirencester Road in Charlton Kings, reached through Little Herberts nature reserve. The dark brick arch becomes a hiding place for a very large kitten.

More: Step Back! (8 Photos)

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Diosa de la Naturaleza by SFHIR at HLA El Ángel in Málaga, Spain: a mural of a woman holding a green heart in her hand, with a real bush growing above the wall as her hair.

🌿 “Diosa de la Naturaleza” (Goddess of Nature) — By SFHIR at HLA El Ángel in Málaga, Spain 🇪🇸

SFHIR painted Diosa de la Naturaleza at HLA El Ángel, a hospital in Málaga (see his timelapse). The bush becomes her hair, while her painted hand holds a green heart.

💡 Nerd Fact: She is one part of a much bigger wall. HLA’s own blog describes SFHIR’s 2019 Málaga project as an 80-meter mural about medicine and Málaga culture.

More: Photo + Video — Street Art by SFHIR in Málaga, Spain

🔗 Visit SFHIR’s website

The Giant Hand of Vyrnwy by Simon O’Rourke: a tall tree trunk in a forest near Lake Vyrnwy, Wales, carved at the top into a huge open hand reaching for the sky.

✋ “The Giant Hand of Vyrnwy” — By Simon O’Rourke near Lake Vyrnwy, Wales 🇬🇧

When the tallest tree in Wales was damaged in a storm, a 50-foot stump was left standing. Simon O’Rourke carved it into The Giant Hand of Vyrnwy, which he describes as the tree’s last attempt to reach for the sky.

💡 Tree Fact: The tree was a 124-year-old Douglas fir, a species native to North America that was brought to the UK in 1827.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe Giant Hand of VyrnwySimon O’Rourke · 2011 · Lake Vyrnwy, Powys, WalesCarved in 2011124-year-old Douglas fir15.2 m (50 ft) stump1The 124-year-old Douglas fir, 63.7 m tall and Wales’ tallest tree, was felled in March 2011 after storm damage.BBC News2According to O’Rourke, the Forestry Commission left a 50 ft stem as a memorial and invited eight artists to tender.BBC News20113 MarBBC: tree felled201111 NovBBC: hand carved201517 FebArbtalk forum report202020 NovArtist revisits the hand20222 Octkomoot photos202515 Febkomoot photosRead the full file →

More: From Tallest Tree to Towering Sculpture: The Giant Hand of the UK

🔗 Visit Simon O’Rourke’s website

Give by Lorenzo Quinn: two giant white hands cupped together, holding a young tree in a green park.

🤲 “Give” — By Lorenzo Quinn

Two giant white hands cup a young tree on the grass of a park.

💡 Nerd Fact: In 2020, Excellence Magazine reported that Give joins a man’s hand and a woman’s hand around an olive tree, as a message of peace, and that Quinn and his gallery gave one to the Tuscan town of Pietrasanta. Quinn’s own site documents Give installations in Florence, Palermo and Pietrasanta in 2020 and 2021.

More: When Nature Becomes Design (12 Photos)

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Cobija de plantas by El Decertor in Imbabura, Ecuador: a mural of a child sleeping on a white pillow, with a real hedge growing in front of the wall as the blanket.

🛏️ “Cobija de plantas” (Blanket of Plants) — By El Decertor in Imbabura, Ecuador 🇪🇨

El Decertor painted the pillow, the face and the hand. The blanket is a real hedge, so it grows, changes color and needs a trim now and then. He painted it in Imbabura for the Numu Festival.

💡 Nerd Fact: Decertor is Daniel Cortez from Lima, Peru. Gateways to Newark describes his public murals as “weatherproof memories.”

More: By El Decertor in Imbabura, Ecuador

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A small white-and-tan dog in a red harness stands on its hind legs and rests a paw on the arm of a stenciled boy sitting cross-legged with his head down, on a wall in Nanaimo, Canada.

🐾 A Helping Paw — By Trevor Cole in Nanaimo, Canada 🇨🇦

The painted boy looks sad, and the dog reaches out to him. Erika Lopez photographed her dog Carlos at this stencil by Trevor Cole in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

More: Kindness Is the Default (9 Photos)

📷 Photo: Erika Lopez

A mural in Pondicherry, India, of a woman in blue sunglasses and hoop earrings, painted below a real bougainvillea bush whose pink flowers become her hair.

🌺 Bougainvillea Shades — Artist Unknown in Pondicherry, India 🇮🇳

The painted face, the blue sunglasses and the hoop earrings work on their own, but the bougainvillea spilling over the wall gives her the hair. It changes with every season and every bloom. We don’t know who painted it.

💡 Nerd Fact: Oxford University Herbaria links bougainvillea to Louis-Antoine de Bougainville’s 1766–1769 voyage, when the naturalist Philibert Commerson found the plant. Pondicherry itself was a French colony, and its French Quarter still shows it.

More: Street Art in Pondicherry, India

📷 Photo: Kanthan

Tijgers van de Kolenkit by Sidney Waerts in Amsterdam: a mural of tigers and tiger cubs in shades of gray covering a building facade, seen through tree branches.

🐯 “Tijgers van de Kolenkit” — By Sidney Waerts in Amsterdam, Netherlands 🇳🇱

Sidney Waerts painted Tijgers van de Kolenkit, the Tigers of the Kolenkit, on this Amsterdam building. The big cats look calm, until you notice they cover the whole facade.

💡 Nerd Fact: “Kolenkit” means coal scuttle. The Dutch monument register says the neighborhood’s 1956 Opstandingskerk got that nickname because its tower looks just like one, and the church became the icon of the Bos en Lommer district.

More: Step Back! (8 Photos)

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📷 Photo: Marieke Weijsman

Odeith crouches to paint a 3D illusion of a floating blue-and-white porcelain bowl with a spoon, a saucer and a swallow flying to the rim, on a white wall with a blue base.

🥣 Porcelain Bowl and Swallow — By Odeith

A bowl, saucer and spoon seem to float in front of the wall while a swallow flies in. The shadows make the porcelain look as solid as the artist crouching below it.

💡 Culture Fact: The ceramic swallow is a familiar Portuguese symbol. Rafael Bordallo Pinheiro’s 1891 swallows still hang from the ceiling of the Tabacaria Mónaco on Lisbon’s Rossio square.

More: Amazing 3D Illusions by Odeith (10 Photos)

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La Scapigliata by Justin Bateman in Chiang Mai, Thailand: a portrait of a young woman with loose hair, arranged from beige, tan, gray and dark pebbles on the ground.

🪨 “La Scapigliata” — By Justin Bateman in Chiang Mai, Thailand 🇹🇭

Bateman made La Scapigliata with found stones in Chiang Mai in 2021, after Leonardo da Vinci’s original, as his own post shows. The ground shows through between the pebbles, so the portrait looks ancient and temporary at the same time.

💡 Art History Fact: The Parma museum that holds Leonardo’s painting lists it as “Testa di fanciulla, detta ‘La scapiliata’” — head of a young woman, known as the disheveled one.

More: Stone Pebble Portraits by Justin Bateman

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UMI by Daniel Popper at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois: a giant seated woman whose body is made of branch and root forms arching over the grass to make a bower.

🌳 “UMI” — By Daniel Popper at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, USA 🇺🇸

The photo shows UMI during The Morton Arboretum’s Human+Nature exhibition. Popper’s studio describes the sculpture as “a woman, a tree, a womb, and a bower.” Its name comes from the Arabic word for “mother.”

💡 What Happened Next Fact: After the Human+Nature exhibition closed, UMI was moved from Illinois and rebuilt in Hogan Park at The Aurora Highlands in Aurora, Colorado, Denver7 reported in 2023.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsUmiDaniel Popper · 2021 · Hogan Park, Aurora, ColoradoMade for a 2021 showSteel & fiber concrete16,755 lb (developer)1It was made for an Illinois arboretum show, then taken apart, shipped to Colorado and rebuilt with adjusted proportions.Denver72According to the developer, the bark-like look is built on steel and glass fiber reinforced concrete.The Aurora Highlands202120 MayArboretum announces UMI202120 MayOpening announced202222 JulArboretum photo, Lisle202215 DecClosing announced202330 JanWinter photo, Lisle202319 AugUnveiled in Aurora202418 OctDenver Post photo, Aurora202512 NovDenver Gazette visit202612 JunNamed in local news20268 JulConcert at Umi listedRead the full file →

More: “UMI” at The Morton Arboretum

Stillness in Motion by Olga Ziemska in Orońsko, Poland: a standing figure made of bundled willow branches, with a long sweep of branches flowing out behind it across the grass.

🌾 “Stillness in Motion” (Matka Series) — By Olga Ziemska in Orońsko, Poland 🇵🇱

Olga Ziemska uses bundled branches to make a still figure look like it is moving. The artist’s project page describes the 2002 site-specific sculpture at the Centre of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko, made from hand-stacked, locally reclaimed willow. The long sweep behind the body reads like wind pulling at hair.

💡 Nerd Fact: Stillness in Motion was the first work in Ziemska’s Matka series. “Matka” means “mother” in Polish, so the figure is also about origin and the place we come from.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsStillness in MotionOlga Ziemska · 2012 · Hanbat Arboretum, DaejeonBamboo, wire, metal armatureProject Daejeon 2012Matka Series no. 21Commissioned by the Daejeon Museum of Art for the outdoor exhibition Project Daejeon 2012: Energy, according to the artist.artist’s page, archived2The museum lists Ziemska in the exhibition’s in-situ art project at Hanbat Arboretum, shown 19 September to 18 November 2012.DMA201219 SepMuseum record: show opens201220 SepHelloDD on the show201218 NovMuseum record: show ends201315 FebIgnant: artist’s photosRead the full file →

More: When Nature Become Art (24 Photos)

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True Nature by Daniel Popper in Cancún, Mexico: a white sculpture holds its detached face in two large hands, with plants growing out of its open head and the sea in the background.

🪴 “True Nature” — By Daniel Popper in Cancún, Mexico 🇲🇽

The figure holds its face away from its head with two enormous hands, and there is a garden inside. Leaves spill out of the opening, and the sea is visible beyond.

💡 Nerd Fact: Popper’s studio says the 2023 sculpture stands in Bohemian Square in Cancún, made with Grupo Rosanegra from a steel subframe and glass-fiber reinforced concrete.

More: Daniel Popper Builds Giants You Can Walk Through (32 Photos)

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Chalk drawing by David Zinn on a sidewalk: a creature built around a real rock laughs with its mouth wide open, next to a tiny girl, at the edge of a bed of mulch.

😂 “Nadine and the Surprisingly Effective Joke” — By David Zinn

A rock at the edge of the sidewalk becomes a creature laughing so hard its mouth is wide open. Tiny Nadine has just told the joke. Zinn also sells the drawing as a print.

💡 Nerd Fact: Zinn’s own site says his drawings are made only of chalk, charcoal and found objects, and are improvised on the spot. He calls the process “ephemeral pareidolic anamorphosis.” Pareidolia is the brain’s habit of seeing faces in random shapes.

More: Street Art by David Zinn — Nadine and the Surprisingly Effective Joke (7 Photos)

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Rubra Spiralis by Jon Foreman: a spiral of red stones widening across the sand at Sandy Haven Beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with the artist crouching beside it and rocks and sea behind.

🌀 “Rubra Spiralis” — By Jon Foreman at Sandy Haven Beach, Wales 🇬🇧

Foreman made Rubra Spiralis over two days in 2024 at Sandy Haven Beach in Pembrokeshire. He wrote that the tide stopped short of the piece, which gave him time to finish the spiral.

💡 Geology Fact: Sandy Haven gives its name to a rock formation in the Old Red Sandstone. The national park’s geology guide notes that it holds the Townsend Tuff, a four-meter layer of volcanic ash that fell on ancient coastal mud flats.

More: Land Art by Jon Foreman

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Aerial view of Below by Jon Foreman at Lindsway Bay, Wales: concentric patterns raked into the sand create the illusion of a deep hole beside the sea, with a person standing nearby for scale.

🌀 “Below” — By Jon Foreman at Lindsway Bay, Wales 🇬🇧

Foreman called this 2021 piece “Below.” From above, the rings and dense patterns make flat sand look like a deep hole. The sea is just beyond it, so the illusion was always temporary.

💡 Nerd Fact: Foreman’s official biography says his sand drawings can reach 100 meters across.

More: The Breathtaking World of Jon Foreman (15 Photos)

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Street art by EFIX: R2-D2 from Star Wars, on a wall next to a gray public trash bin, holds out a bunch of flowers to the bin, with a red heart in a speech bubble above.

🤖 R2-D2 Brings Flowers — By EFIX

EFIX gives a public trash bin an admirer. R2-D2 holds out a bunch of flowers, and a small heart floats above his dome. The bin, as bins do, plays it cool.

More: EFIX’s Clever Art (9 Photos)

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A toddler in a blue shirt and green pants reaches up to hold the hand of a bronze woman, walking beside a bronze boy and an older bronze woman on Yinchuan Pedestrian Street in Ningxia, China.

🧒 A Bronze Family Out for a Walk — On Yinchuan Pedestrian Street, Ningxia, China 🇨🇳

This bronze family has picked up an extra member. A toddler has taken the bronze woman’s hand and fallen into step next to the bronze boy, as if this had been the plan all along. The sculptures along the street show scenes from local life in Yinchuan.

💡 Street Fact: The pedestrian street runs along Gulou South Street, from the Drum Tower to Yinchuan Mall, and has long been nicknamed “Little Shanghai,” according to Meet99.

More: When Sculptures Come Alive (9 Photos vol. 2)

Chalk drawing by David Zinn on a sidewalk: a small lion holding a tiny mouse, with a real tuft of grass growing from a crack as its mane.

🦁 “Mane Problem” — By David Zinn

A tuft of grass in a sidewalk crack becomes a lion’s mane. Zinn captioned the post for this drawing: “Nathan removed the thorn but couldn’t do anything about the mane problem.”

💡 Nerd Fact: Zinn’s official bio says he has been making art in and around Ann Arbor, Michigan, since 1987.

More: Cute Art by David Zinn (16 Photos)

Crunchie by Helga Stentzel: lettuce leaves arranged like a dog peeking out of a green wheelie bin, with two leaves as paws on the rim.

🥬 “Crunchie” — By Helga Stentzel

A few lettuce leaves become ears, paws and a nose, and a green bin gets a resident. Helga Stentzel calls him “Crunchie”, part of her Edible Creatures series.

More: Made You Smile (10 Photos)

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The Vision by CHEONE on Casa Maiocchi in Milan: painted windows, balconies and cornices seem to bend and melt down the cream facade of an apartment building.

🫠 “The Vision” — By Cosimo CHEONE Caiffa in Milan, Italy 🇮🇹

Windows, cornices and balconies seem to buckle and melt down the facade of Casa Maiocchi at Corso di Porta Romana 113. CHEONE unveiled The Vision in July 2021, taking cues from Gaudí’s Casa Batlló.

💡 Nerd Fact: The commission came from the sun-shade company MV Line. Its project page explains the joke: the windows behind its shades stay cool while the rest of the building melts in the heat.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe VisionCheone · 2021 · Corso di Porta Romana, MilanUnveiled 26 July 2021Commissioned by MV Line214 m² blind side wall1The commissioner MV Line Group announced the art wall as on view from 26 July to 30 September 2021.MV Line2According to Civita, a new Cheone art wall, “Time to Fly”, was on the wall at Corso di Porta Romana 111 by 27 February 2022.Civita202126 JulUnveiled, per MV Line202126 JulArtribune report202127 JulCollater.al: on view until 30 Sep20211 AugFinestre sull’Arte202117 DecChristmas version, until 31 Dec202227 FebCivita: “Time to Fly” on the wall202614 Junstreet-artwork.com listingRead the full file →

More: Amazing 3D Murals by CHEONE! (24 Photos)

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Two pipes coming out of a sidewalk next to a yellow wall, painted with striped socks, with chalk sneakers drawn on the pavement below so they look like a pair of legs.

🧦 Keeping the Feet Warm — Artist Unknown

Someone decided these two pipes looked cold. Painted socks and chalk sneakers turn them into a pair of legs ready for a walk. We don’t know who made it.

More: Made You Smile (15 Photos)

A mural by Semi O.K in Çayırova, Turkey: Popeye stretches across a long wall holding out an open can, with a real round evergreen tree growing above it like spinach bursting from the can.

🥫 Popeye’s Spinach — By Semi O.K in Çayırova, Kocaeli, Turkey 🇹🇷

Semi O.K turns a real tree into spinach bursting out of Popeye’s can. The artist’s own post places the wall in Çayırova, Kocaeli.

💡 Nerd Fact: In 1937, Crystal City, Texas, the self-declared “Spinach Capital of the World,” put up a statue of Popeye. Popeye’s official timeline calls it one of the earliest public sculptures of a cartoon character.

More: Playful Art by Semi O.K (8 Photos)

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A small driftwood sculpture by Debra Bernier: a woman’s figure carved into a weathered trunk, with twigs and roots rising above her head like a crown, on a mossy forest floor.

🪵 Driftwood Forest Figure — By Debra Bernier of Vancouver Island, Canada 🇨🇦

Bernier follows the grain, cracks and bends already in the wood. Here a woman’s figure appears in the trunk, while the twigs above her head become a crown. Her Shaping Spirit studio describes her as working from the rainforests of Vancouver Island.

More: 19 Driftwood Sculptures by Debra Bernier

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A mountain biker in a helmet lies across the front legs of a big bear statue at Ayusai Gorge in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with his bike leaning in front and a bear cub statue beside it.

🐻 “Three Bears” — At Ayusai Gorge in Almaty, Kazakhstan 🇰🇿

Bike parked and helmet still on, this rider has stretched out across the big bear’s front legs for a break. The three bears greet visitors at the entrance to the gorge, where the trail into the narrow part begins.

💡 Name Fact: Ayusai means “Bear Gorge” in Kazakh. Tengrinews traces the name to the Tian Shan brown bears that once lived there.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThree BearsNo named maker · by 2017 · Ayusai Gorge, AlmatyWooden sculpture groupThree bearsAyusai Gorge entrance1Hiking guides start the trail to the Ayusai waterfalls at the bears; in 2017 one called them “the now famous sculpture of three bears”.x-travels.ru2Ayusai means “Bear Gorge” in Kazakh, after the Tian Shan brown bears that once lived there.Tengrinews201728 AprAdded to OpenStreetMap2017Junx-travels.ru photo20186 NovMK: “Three Bears” spot202022 MarWelcome.kz20221 FebZabugorshiki guide202329 JulWelcome.kz (English)20259 JulLast OSM edit202626 JanWildTicket Asia202628 JulZabugorshiki, updatedRead the full file →

More: When Sculptures Come Alive (9 Photos vol. 2)

Two photos of scrap-metal sculptures by Brian Mock: a dog and a cat standing face to face on a lawn, and a close-up of the dog made from screws, sockets, forks and gears.

🐶 Dog and Cat — By Brian Mock of Aloha, Oregon, USA 🇺🇸

Screws, sockets, forks and gears give the dog its solid body, while thin rods make the cat look lighter and more cautious. Mock’s portfolio shows sculptures made from recycled scrap metal.

💡 Nerd Fact: Mock is a self-taught welder. His official biography says he drew, painted and carved wood before he started sculpting with recycled metal in the late 1990s.

More: See Eight Times Scrap Metal Found a Pulse

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A huge open blue eye with heavy dark lashes painted on a concrete World War II bunker on the beach at Siouville-Hague, Normandy, with the tide washing in front of it.

👁️ The Eye — By Näutil in Siouville-Hague, France 🇫🇷

This Second World War bunker on the beach at Siouville-Hague already had plenty of mood. Näutil painted one huge eye on it, and the tide does the rest: the concrete block looks like it is watching the sea.

💡 Nerd Fact: TF1 Info named the artist as Cyrille Corlays, alias Näutil, and reported that the eye had become a local landmark before he later painted it closed.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe EyeNäutil (Cyrille Corlays) · 2014 · Siouville-Hague, FrancePainted on a WWII bunkerSpray-painted graffitiPainted in 20141TF1 Info reported in October 2016 that the eye closed in stages: first half-shut, then with the lashes fully lowered.TF1 Info2According to BlockMémo, the pupil faced the Flamanville power station and reflected it, warning of the dangers of nuclear power.BlockMémo2014SepArtist’s dated words2016SummerCharabanc Tour: artist’s photos201611 OctArtist: eye closed201631 OctFrance 3: eye now closed202415 DecBlockMémo: closed and goneRead the full file →

More: By Näutil – In Siouville-Hague, France

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A garden sculpture of a farmer made from a wheelbarrow body, a tire head, metal-bar arms and legs, work gloves, shoes, sunglasses and a blue cap, holding a pitchfork.

🧑‍🌾 Wheelbarrow Farmer — Artist Unknown

A wheelbarrow makes the body, a tire the head, and old metal bars the arms and legs. Work gloves, shoes, sunglasses, a blue cap and a pitchfork finish the farmer.

💡 Art History Fact: Turning found objects into a figure has a famous ancestor: Picasso’s Bull’s Head was made from a bicycle seat and handlebars.

More: Sculptures With Unique Creativity (8 Photos)

Miniature scene by MiniMiam: tiny figures use a pump to inflate golden raisins next to a bunch of huge green grapes.

🍇 “Gonfleurs de raisin” (Inflaters) — By MiniMiam

The scale flips completely. Tiny workers pump up raisins, and the grapes behind them are what you get when the job is done. MiniMiam is the food photographers Akiko Ida and Pierre Javelle; they made this scene in 2016.

💡 Name Fact: MiniMiam began in 2002 with a commission, when the pair started using tiny model-train figures to tell stories with food. “Miam” is French for “yum.”

More: Need a Smile? Start Here (8 Photos)

🔗 Visit MiniMiam’s website

Mélancolie by Albert György: a dark bronze figure sitting on a bench by Lake Geneva, bent forward with its head bowed, with a large hollow where its torso should be.

🕳️ “Mélancolie” — By Albert György, Photographed in Geneva, Switzerland 🇨🇭

Albert György’s bronze Mélancolie became famous through photos taken on the Geneva lakefront. The figure sits bent forward on a bench, with the middle of its body missing.

More: Being Human (10 Photos)

🔗 Visit Albert György’s website

Sand art by PUFFERFISH on a sunny beach: the outline of Wile E. Coyote carved into the sand as if he has been flattened into the ground.

🏖️ Wile E. Coyote — By PUFFERFISH

Wile E. Coyote has had another bad day. PUFFERFISH carves him into the sand as if he had just been flattened into the beach, a classic cartoon ending.

💡 Nerd Fact: Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner debuted in the 1949 short Fast and Furry-ous. Chuck Jones said the coyote owed something to Mark Twain’s description of a hungry, unlucky coyote.

More: Summer Fun (9 Photos)

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Circles by Spencer Byles: a row of large rings woven from branches, lined up between trees so they form a tunnel through a forest in southern France.

⭕ “Circles” — By Spencer Byles near La Colle-sur-Loup, France 🇫🇷

Byles made Circles (photo: Leo Fry) for A Year in a French Forest, in the woods near La Colle-sur-Loup. He kept the exact sites private, so walkers came across the sculptures by chance.

💡 Ephemeral Art Fact: Byles says his sculptures are ephemeral and meant to go through changes until they disappear.

More: When Nature Become Art (8 Photos)

🔗 Visit Spencer Byles’s website

Odeith sits on a bucket painting a huge 3D wasp with yellow and black stripes on the wall of an abandoned building.

🐝 Mimic Wasp — By Odeith

Odeith paints the wasp with enough shadow to lift it off the wall, in the anamorphic 3D style he is known for. Beautiful from a distance. Less so if you imagine it moving.

More: 3D Art by Odeith (25 Photos)

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Two men lean in to read the book held by a seated bronze statue of the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio on a stone bench in Piazza della Borsa, Trieste: one sits beside the statue, the other stands behind it.

📚 “Gabriele D’Annunzio” — By Alessandro Verdi in Piazza della Borsa, Trieste, Italy 🇮🇹

Two visitors lean in to read over the shoulder of the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio, in Alessandro Verdi’s 2019 bronze on Piazza della Borsa. His quiet reading break has turned into a study group.

💡 Trieste Fact: D’Annunzio’s own time in Trieste was short: TriesteMetro says he stayed briefly in 1902 with the actress Eleonora Duse.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsIl solitario studioso (Gabriele D’Annunzio)Alessandro Verdi · 2019 · Piazza della Borsa, TriesteLife-size bronzeOne of three castsUnveiled on a centenary1Croatia’s foreign ministry sent Italy a protest note on the day the statue was unveiled.Telegram.hr2In May 2021 someone threw yellow paint over the statue’s head; it was cleaned the same morning.ANSA201912 JunPetition: 1,500 signatures201911 SepInstalled201912 SepUnveiled at noon201912 SepCroatian protest note202115 MayYellow paint, cleaned20222 NovPhoto taken (Commons)2026AprVisitor reviewRead the full file →

More: When Sculptures Come Alive (9 Photos vol. 2)

Rising Cairn by Celeste Roberge: a crouching human figure made of a galvanized steel frame filled with rounded granite stones, on a paved courtyard.

🪨 “Rising Cairn” — By Celeste Roberge

This sculpture is often shared online as “The Weight of Grief,” but its title is Rising Cairn. It is welded, galvanized steel holding 4,000 pounds of granite.

💡 Nerd Fact: There is more than one. Roberge’s site lists Rising Cairns at the Runnymede Sculpture Farm in Woodside, California, and at the Portland Museum of Art in Maine, plus a prototype she kept. My Modern Met reports that she welded the frame as a rough, larger-than-life likeness of her own body.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCairnCeleste Roberge · 1998 · Nevada Museum of Art, RenoSteel and river rockMade in 1998Nevada Museum of Art1The Nevada Museum of Art lists the work as “Cairn” by Celeste Roberge, 1998, steel and river rock, bought with funds from Volunteers in Art.Nevada Museum of Art2According to Online Nevada, Cairn was moved to its place by the museum door when the new building opened in 2003.Online Nevada1998Museum record date200420 DecMuseum photo20051 SepOnline Nevada photo20137 FebOur photo on My Modern Met201822 NovTAI Modern: front entrance202120 AugRiverwalk District photoRead the full file →

More: The Weight We Carry (10 Artworks)

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Discussion 21 comments

    1. Fábio Gomes painted the girl’s face on a wall on Rua 6 in Trindade, Brazil, so that a real lilac bougainvillea forms her hair. He based the portrait on a photo of the young model Sarai, and his original post is linked under the photo.

      Reply

  14. They are all superb in their own way. Clever, clever people. I am artistic but only in my own minor way so I appreciative the time, effort and love that goes into these pieces.

    Reply

  15. They are all stunning.
    It is lovely to see that birds, pets, humans have interacted.
    Amongst the smaller wall arts I am especially impressed with Alfred Hitchcock.
    Full credit to the artists
    And the photographers, plus the compiler of the collection for our enjoyment. LB 🇬🇧

    Reply

    1. what a kind gesture from an amazing soul that you are, sending you lots of hugs blessings ❣️🤗

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    1. Fontana Luminosa is a public fountain from the 1930s: Nicola D’Antino made the two bronze women in L’Aquila, Italy, holding up a conca abruzzese, the region’s traditional water jar.

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🌼 “Balance” Lifts a Flower Medallion Above Parking Ramps — By JahOne in Linz

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🪺 Birds and a Nest Perch on Impossible 3D Ledges — By tasso_maclaim in Fraureuth

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