Eight Strange and Wonderful Statues from around the World

Ever since man’s predecessors figured out that they can use one stone to make holes in another, there have been statues and carvings.  As time and technology progressed, these creative endeavors became larger and more elaborate.  Most of the earliest examples of statues revolve around religious motivations, though there are plenty of different reasons for people to create art.  Statues have been erected to commemorate famous people, to convey legends and folklore, to show devotion to one religious belief or another and to demonstrate the spirit of a country or other cultural center.  Some of these have turned out grand and hold a place as remarkable artistic efforts.  Others, particularly modern ones, are more bizarre peculiarities than anything else.  Here, I’ve collected eight interesting statues from around the world, running the gambit from monumental to just plain insane.

Frogner Park - Oslo, Norway

This “statue” is actually an entire park filled with a collection of very strange creations.  FrognerPark features statues of people doing strange things to each other, fighting with or falling victim to malevolent babies, hurling men and women or contorting with them in strange positions and giant piles of bodies, both young and old.  One of strangest is the picture above, in which a man appears to be drop-kicking babies.  It’s actually supposed to be a man fighting off genies, but the imagery is much more entertaining when misinterpreted.

Evil Babies - Prague, Czech Republic

Yet another baby-related oddity, this one comes from the mind of David Cerny, an artist responsible for creating several statues in Prague (most of them quite bizarre).  This creation features large babies with misshapen faces crawling about one of Prague’s parks.  They even scale the local television tower, apparently trying to prove that there’s no place safe to run when the babies decide to go on the offensive.

Leshan Giant Buddha - Leshan, China

The Leshan Giant Buddha is, unlike most on this list, a more historical creation.  Carved directly into a rock cliff, this Buddha dates back to the Tang Dynasty, being first started in 713 and not completed until 90 years later.  The creators even took precautions to protect this holy relic from the elements, installing a drainage system to reduce wear from water and covering it in gold plating.  Unfortunately, the invading Mongols ran off with the gold, but the statue still stands, an amazing testament to the industriousness of times past.

Rodina Mat - Kiev, Russia

Built in 1981, the Rodina Mat (or Mother Motherland), is a communist symbol made large.  It stands more than 200 feet tall, located atop a museum that boosts it to a total of 335 feet.  This Soviet-era icon is somewhat controversial today, with some feeling that it should be torn down and the materials made use of for more important things.  Though for now it still stands, a memory of a different time for the country.

Guan Yin - Hainan Island, China

Located in the South Sea of Sanya, the Guan Yin at HainanIsland is yet another epically large example of religious art.  This one was modeled after a bodhisattva, the titular Guan Yin and stands more than 350 feet tall.  This three-faced symbol of Buddhism is a modern construct despite its historic style, only recently finished in 2005.  The statue is said to represent protection for China and the world as a whole and this work also happens to be the largest statue of Guan Yin (a rather popular subject for large statues) in the entire world.

Laykyun Setkyar - Monywa, Myanmar

This entry is actually a combination of two statues, one being the Laykyun Setkyar, the other the equally massive Reclining Buddha.  The first was completed in 2008, though the latter was finished in 1991.  The standing statue reaches a height of more than 425 feet tall and is the second tallest statue in the world - a strange claim to fame for the poverty-stricken Myanmar.  It resembles something that might have been built in ages past, though with a more modern and gaudy appearance.

Genghis Khan - Tsonjin Boldog, Mongolia

The country of Mongolia is, despite world opinion, very proud of its heritage and that connection to the great conqueror, Genghis Khan.  If you go to the country, you’ll find no shortage of monuments to the guy, along with any number of products that have been branded with his name as well.  One monument that stands above the rest is the 131-foot tall, steel-plated statue of Genghis on his horse.  This magnificent statue is placed conveniently beside a museum, so once you see the big version, you can go and look at some more realistically sized artifacts from his time.  If you want, you can even climb the steps inside the statue and look out over the surrounding landscape from the horse’s head.

Gundam Robot - Tokyo, Japan

This one has to be the most bizarre devotion to culture that I’ve seen in a while.  Japan, birthplace of anime, has taken upon themselves to erect a 60-foot tall statue of a Gundam robot.  It is actual size, were these robots to exist in real life, and even lights up at night.  This robot has seen some travel as well, being taken apart and reconstructed in various places around the country, though now it stands where it originated, in TokyoPlaza.

Statue of Liberty photo courtesy of featherboa via Wikicommons

FrognerPark “baby fighter” courtesy of nuskoolbreaks.co.uk

PragueBabyTower photo courtesy of Rosa Menkman via Wikicommons

Leshan Giant Buddha photo courtesy of Pixar via Wikicommons

Rodina Mat photo courtesy of Slava via Wikicommons

Guan Yin photo courtesy of Hostage820 via Wikicommons

Laykyun Setkyar photo courtesy of Wagaung via Wikicommons

Genghis Khan photo courtesy of Mutzenbacher via Wikicommons

Gundam Robot photo courtesy of grind365.com