Beast-like wind sculptures that move across the sand in an almost lifelike manner

They are called ‘Strandbeests’ and they are made of plastic tubes and lemonade bottles

They are called ‘Strandbeests’ and they are made of plastic tubes and lemonade bottles

These complex wind-powered skeletal constructions named ‘Strandbeests’ (meaning beach beasts in Dutch), are designed to stay on the beach and live off the sea breeze. Their creator is the Dutch artist Theo Jansen, who has equipped them with sensing mechanisms that can detect water, avoid obstacles and hammer the animal into the sand before a storm. His creations are entirely made of ordinary plastic tubes without any electronics, and their design was computer generated initially and entirely freeform later on. Jansen has managed to make these skeletons incredibly life-like by adding pumps and valves and by using air pressure. His final goal though, is to create a completely independent artificial animal.