Mankind has been building status for as long as there has been civilisation, and even before that.
Our ability to take a piece of rock, granite, or marble and carve it into something unique and one-of-a-kind is part of the creative spark that humans were gifted with from the moment we began paining in caves.
Over the years, there have been an assortment of strange and unusual statues that have popped up around the world. Many of these have deeper, hidden meaning behind them, while others were created simply because the artist wanted to make them, similar in some ways to the TV shows we make and the bingo Australia games we play.
1. Maman
Maman was created by a French-American artist by the name of Louise Bourgeois, who produced this sculpture in 1999, where it was revealed by the Tate Museum of Modern Art in the UK. Its title is the informal French word for ‘mother’ and it consists of a 30 foot bronze spider statue with a sac that contains 36 eggs made from marble.
The artist stated that it was an ode to his mother, and like a spider, she was a weaver. The family had been involved in the business of tapestry restoration, and his mother was in charge of the workshop.
2. Tarasque – Tarascon, France
The Tarasque is a creation pulled straight out of French legend, and is a mixture of a dragon, bear, and turtle. The creature was believed to have terrorised the town of Tarascon many years ago, and according to the stories, it was named by St. Martha, who brought it back to the village, but was ultimately destroyed by the villagers.
Artist Pascal Demaumont created his own version of the famous beast in 2005, and it has become a centrepiece of the town’s yearly festival, which is done in honour of the town’s namesake.
3. Ozymandias on The Plains – Texas, United States
Stanly Marsh 3 is an eccentric millionaire that commissioned this piece that was completed in 1887. Created by artist Lightning’ McDuff, it’s named a Percy Bysshe Shelley poem about eh futility of building eternal monuments for the sake of eternal remembrance.
The plaque on the statue explains how Shelley wrote the poem on that spot after coming cross the ruins, despite the fact that the statue was created many years after the poem had originally been released.
4. Totem – Leaven, Belgium
Jan Febre is a Belgian artist that first unveiled this piece in 2005 as a commemoration of the 575th anniversary of the Catholic University of the town. Named “Totem” the status depicts a massive beetle impaled on an equally giant needle just outside of the university.
The statue was created to represent the spirit of the university and city; most likely an old and inside joke among residents of the area.
5. Hand of The Desert – Atacama, Chile
Designed by Mario Irarrazabal, this three story giant hand can be found in the Atacama Desert of Chile.
The artist has built another two similar sculptures in both the United States and Uruguay, although the other two aren’t quite as large.
