Statues Are More Fun When You Join In (12 Photos)

Some statues you want to hug. Some you walk past a little faster. You decide: cute or creepy?

Bronze kids in a queue, an empty cloak in Prague, a cherub with bad intentions and a troll grinning out of a Danish forest. Same materials, very different first reactions.

More: Playing With Statues (40 Photos)

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🎭 “Cloister Conspiracy” — By Philip Jackson

Three hooded figures, no faces, one gold hand. They stand close together like they’re sharing a secret you’re not invited to.

💡 Sculpture Fact: Another cast of the group stands in the Lake Nona Sculpture Garden in Orlando, Florida, on a lawn with palm trees. Much less gloomy.

More: Haunting Sculptures by Philip Jackson (10 Photos)

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🎻 “Music Unhurried” — By Qian Chang and Huang Jianxun in Guangzhou, China 🇨🇳

A bronze violinist leads a line of children, each holding the clothes of the one in front. Then a real toddler walked up and took the last boy’s hands.

💡 Place Fact: The group stands on Shamian Island in Guangzhou. The name means “sandy surface,” and it only became an island in 1859, when Britain and France dug a channel along its north side.

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👻 “Il Commendatore” — By Anna Chromy in Prague, Czechia 🇨🇿

An empty cloak, sitting. No face, no hands, only a dark hollow where someone should be.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsIl CommendatoreAnna Chromy · 2000 · Prague, CzechiaBronzeAnna ChromyEstates Theatre1Chromy named it after the Commendatore in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, which premiered at the Estates Theatre in 1787.iDNES.cz2After its removal in November 2025, it reportedly remains Prague 1 property, temporarily stored at the National Theatre’s depot.Expats.cz2000Stands beside the Estates Theatre from 2000 · iDNES.cz201928 DecPhotographed beside the theatre · Josep Renalias202512 NovRemoved from Železná Street by Prague 1 · iDNES.cz202514 NovPlaced in storage at the National Theatre · Prague Morning202524 NovStill Prague 1 property, in the theatre’s depot · Expats.cz (updated report)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: Josep Renalias / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

💡 Opera Fact: It sat outside the Estates Theatre, where Mozart’s Don Giovanni premiered in 1787. The Commendatore is the dead man who comes back for Don Giovanni. In November 2025, after more than 20 years there, Prague 1 removed it and stored it in the National Theatre’s depot for now.

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😔 “Night (La Nuit)” — By Aristide Maillol in Dallas, Texas, USA 🇺🇸

A little girl copies Aristide Maillol’s bronze Night (La Nuit) in the Nasher Sculpture Center garden in Dallas. Same pose, same ledge, much smaller.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsNight (La Nuit)Aristide Maillol · 1902–09, cast 1960 · Nasher Sculpture Center, DallasBronzeCast 1960Nasher Collection, 19821The Nasher Sculpture Center’s record names this bronze Night (La Nuit), modelled 1902–09 and cast in 1960.Nasher Sculpture Center2A photograph dated 14 July 2018 shows this cast on a stone ledge in the Nasher Sculpture Center garden.Rrwagner59 / Wikimedia Commons1982Joins the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection · Nasher record2013SepPhotographed indoors at the Nasher · Dees Stribling201814 JulPhotographed in the Nasher garden · Rrwagner59201815 SepListed in Foundations: The Nature of Arp, to 6 Jan 2019 · Nasher recordRead the full file →

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👼 Cherub Attack

A stone cherub mid-swing, and a visitor who sold the moment completely.

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🤝 A New Best Friend

A toddler takes both hands of a bronze girl standing in grown-up high heels. It looks like the start of a dance.

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✉️ “Le Messager” — By James Colomina in Kyiv, Ukraine 🇺🇦

A small red figure leans out of a wall and paints a red Ukrainian trident on the tiles below.

💡 Stamp Fact: Colomina placed it on the wall of the main post office on Independence Square. On February 24, 2025, Ukrposhta put it on a stamp with two of his other works, a dove and a girl on a swing.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsLe MessagerJames Colomina · 2024 · Kyiv, UkraineRed resinUkrainian tridentMaidan Nezalezhnosti1A red child leans out of the main post-office wall to draw the Ukrainian trident, a symbol of Ukrainian identity and resistance.Le Parisien, 6 Sep 20242On 24 February 2025 Ukrposhta launched a stamp block showing it with two other Colomina works, Dove and Girl on a Swing.Suspilne Kyiv, 24 Feb 2025202422 AugInstalled on the post-office wall · La Dépêche202425 AugPhotographed on the wall · Hromadske via Rubryka20246 SepChild drawing the trident · Le Parisien202520 FebUkrposhta places it on the facade · Interfax-Ukraine202524 FebStamp block launched in Kyiv · SuspilneRead the full file →

More: Santa Claus With a Gift Box Head and More by James Colomina

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👫 Hold My Hand

A boy steps into a bronze family’s walk and takes the younger woman’s free hand. Nobody in the family objects.

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🐦 The Pigeon’s Revenge

A giant pigeon stands over a man on the grass who plays the victim very well.

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🌲 “Helle Haltben” — By Thomas Dambo in Hald, Denmark 🇩🇰

A giant wooden troll grins out of the forest. Friendly smile, a lot of teeth.

💡 Troll Fact: In Dambo’s rhyme for the troll, Helle falls into a hole and her leg breaks off, so she sits propped on one arm. The lost leg lies farther into the forest and is a shelter where visitors can spend the night.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsHelle HaltbenThomas Dambo · 2024 · Hald, DenmarkRecycled woodLost leg is a shelterBuilt with Hald volunteers1Her lost leg lies away from the troll, farther into the forest, and is a shelter where visitors can spend the night.Friluftsrådet2According to Skive Kommune, the troll cost 900,000 kroner, and 30–40 volunteers from Hald took part in building it.Skive Kommune202426 SepReported finished the day before · Vores Roslev202410 OctReady at the end of September · Friluftsrådet20254 MayPhotographed with her shelter leg · Kenneth KristensenRead the full file →

More: 10 Giant Trolls Hiding in Forests, Lakes and Ruins

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🦖 Monster City Showdown — By SAW ONCE RURAL BOYZ and Harfo in La Algaba, Spain 🇪🇸

A ruined city stretches across the wall, with a giant lizard at one end and a roaring gorilla at the other. Painted for the La Algaba Jam.

🔗 Follow SAW ONCE RURAL BOYZ and Harfo on Instagram

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🐻 Bear Hug

A carved bear holds a cyclist like it found him on the trail. Either a rescue or a snack.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThree BearsIn place by 2017 · Ayusai Gorge, Almaty, KazakhstanWooden sculpture groupThree bear figuresIn place by 20171Guides to the Ayusai waterfalls start at the bears; x-travels.ru begins its route “from the now famous sculpture of three bears”.x-travels.ru2OpenStreetMap first mapped the point on 28 April 2017 as “Медвежонок” (Bear cub), later renaming it “Три Медведя” (Three Bears).OpenStreetMap201728 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 →