Sculpture

Any unsuspecting swimmers diving off the coast of Cannes may think they've stumbled onto some kind of ancient Easter Island-type civilization swept into the sea, but they'd actually be seeing the work of underwater artist Jason deCaires Taylor.

The artist Christo recently passed away at the age of 84. For decades, he and his wife Jeanne-Claude made headlines with their striking and provocative artworks, such as installing a giant orange curtain between two mountain slopes in Colorado.

It was four years ago that Brooklyn-based metal sculptor Adrian Landon presented us with a life-size Mechanical Horse that actually galloped on the spot. He's now taken things a lot further, with a giant flying horse that spouts flames as it runs.

​Now in its 22nd edition, the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition at Sydney’s Bondi Beach turns one of Australia’s most iconic stretches of coastline into a huge outdoor sculpture park, showcasing the wares of artists from all around the world.

Artist and environmental sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor has just completed his most remarkable work to date, a semi-submerged tidal gallery exhibiting a number of artworks designed to evolve over time as they are colonized by algae and weathered by the environment.

Bulgarian-born artist Christo, who made his name creating oversized artworks with his late wife Jeanne-Claude, is planning his first major UK project this year. Named the Mastaba, the temporary sculpture will feature thousands of stacked barrels floating on Serpentine Lake, Hyde Park, London.

Although showing some signs of wear after eight decades of use, the wooden escalators of Sydney's Wynyard Station aren't done just yet. Repurposed as a twisting installation by local artist Chris Fox, the heritage timber structures now hang from the ceiling as spectacular heritage-inspired artwork.

The fastest way to get over selfie insecurities might be to project those photos onto a giant head for all to see. Accepting your own face and flaws, and how you present yourself to the world, was the impetus for a public art installation called As We Are, by Matthew Mohr Studios.

​Back in 2014, a team of mechanical engineering students came up with an idea: why not build a giant Rubik's Cube that can be solved by hand? Although they've since graduated, their "kinetic sculpture" recently received its finishing touches from a second team that took over.

Nissan has created what it claims to be the world's biggest 3D-printing pen sculpture. The Qashqai Black Edition model was created to celebrate the car's launch and contains 13.8 km (8.6 mi) of plastic strands.

Coming to London’s Kew Gardens is an installation from sculptor Wolfgang Buttress. The Hive is a light-, sound- and vibration-emitting structure controlled by the activity of bees in an actual beehive on the garden’s grounds.

Last year it was announced that the ArcelorMittal Orbit that was created for the 2012 Olympic Games in London and sits on the Olympic Park site was to have a slide added to it, giving visitors a quick way down from its observation deck. Construction is now almost complete and it will open in June.