Artists Turn Sand, Snow, Bronze, Scrap, Tires and Straw Into Lifelike Animals (8 Photos)

October 19, 2026

By Vidar

When Art Holds Its Breath

For one second, each of these animals seems ready to breathe, blink or take another step. Sand, snow, bronze, scrap, tires and rice straw do the impersonating.

🐂 Just Resting — By Andoni Bastarrika in Zarautz, Spain 🇪🇸

The lowered head, folded legs and loose-looking skin make this sand bull seem heavy with sleep. Bastarrika created it on the seafront promenade (malecón) in Zarautz in 2019, and the bull went viral that same year. More of his sand animals are in his sculpture archive.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsSand BullAndoni Bastarrika · Zarautz, SpainSand sculptureLife-size bullBasque Country1He made it on the seafront promenade in Zarautz, and says it went viral in 2019.Andoni Bastarrika2According to My Modern Met, its horns were real and its hooves were rocks.My Modern Met202022 MayPhoto and interview · LA NACION202025 MayResting bull reported · Europa Press202026 MayInterview with the bull · Bored Panda202028 MayTwo views of the bull · My Modern MetRead the full file →

More: Incredibly Realistic Sand Sculptures by Andoni Bastarrika

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🐕 Sand Dog — By Andoni Bastarrika in Spain 🇪🇸

The larger dog is sculpted from sand; the smaller dog lying beside it is real. Bastarrika shapes sand and earth of different colors by hand, with a stick and a pen for the details.

More: Incredibly Realistic Sand Sculptures by Andoni Bastarrika

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🐇 The Last Hare Joins In — By E. G. Kuznetsov in St. Petersburg, Russia 🇷🇺

A toddler hugs the final bronze hare and completes the line. Hares During a Flood is a 2015 work at the Peter and Paul Fortress.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsHares During a FloodE. G. Kuznetsov · 2015 · Peter and Paul Fortress, St. PetersburgFive haresMade in 2015On Hare Island1A Russian rabbit website says the group is based on Eva Fornåå’s rabbit composition in Söderköping, Sweden.Krolikiss2Like the fortress’s other hare sculptures, it is moved around the grounds from time to time, a visitor writes.Yandex Maps review2015MadeKuznetsov’s group · Krolikiss20215 AprPhoto series published · SuperSnimki202515 JulVisitor review · Yandex Maps202627 FebVisitor review · Yandex Maps202613 MayVisitor review · Yandex MapsRead the full file →

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🐘 Elephant — By Villu Jaanisoo in Jyväskylä, Finland 🇫🇮

Old car tires on a steel frame become an elephant with a trunk, ears and heavy legs. The tread turns into convincing folds of skin. Jaanisoo lists the work simply as Elephant (2018, 360 × 420 × 250 cm), installed in a public park in Jyväskylä.

💡 Artist Fact: The elephant was not Jaanisoo’s first animal made of old tires. His seated tire gorilla Everything Is Possible (2009) stood in front of the Korona info center on the University of Helsinki’s Viikki campus until it was destroyed by fire on January 10, 2018.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsNorsu (Elephant)Villu Jaanisoo · 2018 · Kangas, JyväskyläSteel & recycled tires360 × 420 × 250 cmKangas district1The elephant is built from steel and recycled tires, 360 × 420 × 250 cm.Villu Jaanisoo2It stands where Rusokinkatu meets the cycle route in the Kangas district.Kangas art guide201828 SepUnveiling announced · Gradia2019Photo by Anni Koponen · Cupore report202427 FebNamed in award notice · Finnish Cultural FoundationRead the full file →

More: Looking Tyred

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🐈 Up the Trees — Artist Unknown

A whole gang of snow cats has scrambled onto the trunks, paws spread and tails curled. The artist remains unidentified.

More: Snow Cats Climbing Trees

🐻 The Bear in the Wall — By Bordalo II in Turin, Italy 🇮🇹

A monumental bear pushes out from the side wall of Teatro Colosseo, on Via Giorgio Bidone at the corner of Via Madama Cristina in Turin’s San Salvario district. Bordalo II builds his Big Trash Animals from discarded scrap.

💡 Artist Fact: Bordalo II is Artur Bordalo, born in 1987, and as a child he spent hours watching his grandfather, the painter Artur Real Bordalo (1925–2017), at work. The first Big Trash Animals went up in Łódź, Poland, in 2015.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe Big BearBordalo II · 2016 · Teatro Colosseo, TurinDiscarded materialsTheatre side wallSan Salvario1The bear is assembled from discarded materials on the side wall of Teatro Colosseo.MuseoTorino2The chalkboard below it is a separate work, Andrea Spoto’s Before I Die… Black Dream Wall.MuseoTorino201612 DecBear on the theatre wall · La Stampa2017Photos by Roberto Cortese · MuseoTorino201710 JulPhotos by Francesca Lai · la Repubblica2024OctInventory updated · Arte per strada202519 JanGuide with photos · TOloveRead the full file →

More: Bordalo II Builds Animals From Trash

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🦕 A Triceratops After the Harvest — Wara Art Festival in Niigata, Japan 🇯🇵

Two children meet a giant Triceratops made from rice straw at Uwasekigata Park in Niigata’s Nishikan Ward. Each year, students from Musashino Art University design the figures, local craftspeople build the wooden frames, and farmers weave the straw left after the harvest into the sheets that cover them.

💡 Festival Fact: Wara Art began as an exchange between the former Iwamuro Village and Musashino Art University professor Shingo Miyajima, and Niigata City has run the festival since 2008.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsStraw TriceratopsMusashino Art University students and local residents · 2015 · Uwasekigata Park, NiigataRice strawWara Art 2015Theme: living things1Musashino Art University students and local residents made it for the 2015 festival.Niigata City2Its skin is rice straw woven into sheets and fixed over a timber frame.Miyajima interview201529 AugShown at the festival · Niigata City201517 SepReport · withnews20151 NovLast display day · Niigata City2016JulShown in Miyajima interviewRead the full file →