Sculptures in Motion (10 Photos vol. 5)

October 29, 2026

By Vidar

Ten sculptures that refuse to stay still

A runner pushes through a snowstorm, a face grows from a crown of leaves, giant stone fingers hold a living tree, and a child rests on a dog-shaped street sculpture. None of them can move, but they don’t look like it.

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

🦎 “Salamander” — By Bordalo II in Águeda, Portugal 🇵🇹

A wrecked car becomes the head, while tires and plastic containers form a body ready to crawl across the square. Bordalo II built the 2015 installation from three motor vehicles and other waste, inspired by a salamander from the protected Rio Vouga landscape.

💡 Name Fact: Bordalo II is the working name of Artur Bordalo, born in 1987. The “II” is a tribute to his grandfather, the painter Real Bordalo.

More: Bordalo II Builds Animals From Trash

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🧳 A Traveler at Sunset — By Bruno Catalano in Viareggio, Italy 🇮🇹

Much of the traveler’s torso is missing, while the suitcase links the upper and lower sections. The sunset shines through the open body, making the figure look as if it is arriving and disappearing at the same time.

More: Bruno Catalano’s Fragmented Travelers

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🐊 Straw Crocodile — Wara Art Festival, Niigata, Japan 🇯🇵

Its body stays low to the ground while the enormous jaws rise toward the camera, complete with individual straw teeth. The Wara Art Festival brings art students and local residents together to turn rice straw left after the harvest into monumental animals.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsStraw CrocodileMusashino Art University students and local residents · 2017 · NiigataRice strawWara ArtNiigata1Posed beside the pond as if climbing out of the water, and built so visitors could step inside, according to PARTNER's visit report.PARTNER2Made by Musashino Art University students and local residents for the 2017 Wara Art Festival.Niigata City20174 SepCrocodile by the pond, open inside · Partner201711 OctThe 2017 straw animals · Time Out Tokyo201718 DecCity page: shown until 1 November 2017Read the full file →

More: Inside the Wara Art Festival

🤝 “Story of Friendship” — By Batist Vermeulen in Antwerp, Belgium 🇧🇪

The child lies across the dog’s back while the sculpture seems to rise directly from the cobbled plaza. The pose makes the two figures read as quiet companions.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsNello & PatrascheBatist Vermeulen · 2016 · AntwerpAntwerpWhite marble20161The sculpture was installed on Handschoenmarkt, outside Antwerp Cathedral, in 2016.VRT2Energy-efficient LED lighting was switched on in November 2022, according to VRT.VRT2016Installed on Handschoenmarkt, according to VRT’s 2023 account20227 NovLED lighting switched on; reported by VRT the following day202316 JulBlack-marker vandalism documented in VRT’s 17 July report; later condition not verifiedRead the full file →

More: A Timeless Tale of Friendship in Antwerp

🤲 “The Caring Hand” — By Eva Oertli and Beat Huber in Glarus, Switzerland 🇨🇭

A tree grows between monumental stone fingers, turning a simple gesture of support into something large enough to walk around.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe Caring HandEva Oertli and Beat Huber · GlarusConcreteSkulptura 04Copy in Alabama1Planned for the four months of the Skulptura 04 show, then donors raised CHF 43,700 to give it to the town, the artist says.Beat Huber2The heaviest finger is the thumb, reportedly about 800 kilograms.Südostschweiz202315 MayTown announces full dismantling for repairs on 22 May202315 MayThe concrete hand needs a 'manicure' · Südostschweiz20231 SepBack in the Volksgarten · Südostschweiz202429 JunArtist's page on Glarus and the Montgomery copyRead the full file →

More: Sculptures That Blend With Nature

🏃 “Dromeas” / “The Runner” — By Costas Varotsos in Athens, Greece 🇬🇷

Thousands of sharp glass layers trail behind the 12-meter figure like a wake. Varotsos built the work from iron and glass; it stands on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, and the snow makes its sense of speed even stranger.

📷 Photo: Igor Mityakov

More: One of the Most Iconic Statues of Athens Covered in Snow

🤲 “Heartwood” — By Daniel Popper in Montgomery, Alabama, USA 🇺🇸

The monumental woman parts around the path, inviting visitors to walk through the figure. Fingerprint-like grooves echo tree rings; Heartwood now stands at the Equal Justice Initiative’s Freedom Monument Sculpture Park.

📷 Photo: Jonx Pillemer

More: Daniel Popper Builds Giants You Can Walk Through

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

A calm face looks out from one hundred fan-shaped leaves. Popper created the eight-foot cast-aluminum sculpture for the Arboretum’s 2022 centennial; it later moved to The Elser Hotel in Miami.

More: Daniel Popper Builds Giants You Can Walk Through

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🧘 A Quiet Moment — By Isaac Cordal in Barcelona, Spain 🇪🇸

A miniature cement figure sits cross-legged in the middle of the city while a blurred bird passes behind it. He looks completely at home in a world built at the wrong scale for him.

💡 Artist Fact: Cordal was born in Pontevedra, Spain, in 1974, studied sculpture there and then spent five years training in stone conservation. He has been placing his cement figures, reproduced from silicone molds, in public spaces since 2006 as part of the ongoing Cement Eclipses series.

More: Isaac Cordal in Barcelona

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