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Magical Beach Marauding Machines

Dutch artist Theo Jansen creates incredible kinetic, wind powered sculptures, resembling the skeletons of ambiguous beasts.

Jansen's artist statement:

"Since 1990 I have been occupied creating new forms of life.

Not pollen or seeds but plastic yellow tubes are used as the basic material of this new nature. I make skeletons that are able to walk on the wind, so they don't have to eat.

Over time, these skeletons have become increasingly better at surviving the elements such as storms and water and eventually I want to put these animals out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives."

Jansen's work is essentially a meeting place of engineering and art, as he says in the BMW commercial below, "The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds."

Images (by Loek van der Klis ) and videos of Jansen's beautiful work:

Artistic sand sculpture on a beach with flags against a blue sky.

A tumbleweed on a sandy beach under a blue sky with clouds.

Wind-inspired kinetic sculpture on a beach.

Contemporary architectural structure in a grassy landscape.

Man in a yellow raincoat carrying a stick beside a large, elephant-shaped structure.

Discarded industrial structure on a rainy day with cloudy skies and green landscape.

Cardboard elephant sculpture on an outdoor pavement with a person interacting with it.

Artistic wooden structure resembling a kinetic sculpture against a clear blue sky.

Straw structure resembling a creature on a beach.

Sculpture of a large insect made from natural materials on a beach.

A large, skeletal structure resembling an insect on a sandy landscape under a blue sky.

Sculpture made of mechanical materials on a sandy beach under a blue sky.

Sculptural architectural installation on a sandy landscape under a blue sky.

Mechanical structure made of thin rods and wheels on a sandy surface.

Large artistic sculpture made of wooden sticks, set on a beach against a clear blue sky.

Straw huts on a sandy beach under a blue sky.

Fishing net and debris on a beach.

Artistic installation of a fabric-covered structure on a sandy beach under a cloudy sky.

Artistic sculpture on a desert landscape with intricate details.

All photos by Loek van der Klis.

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