Nikolay Polissky’s nature-inspired sculptures turn village into Land-Art Mecca
- At 42, classical artist Nikolay Polissky turned to creating nature-inspired sculptures.
- He transformed a small village into a world-famous centre for Land-Art.
- Local residents build his unconventional works, using local, eco-friendly materials.
- The village has now become an internationally famous artist colony.
- It now hosts an annual Land-Art festival, Archstoyanie, which attracts tourists and artists from around the world.
At 42, artist Nikolay Polissky changed his life, turning from classical art to unconventional, nature-inspired sculpture and architecture.
At the same time, he changed the life of his whole community, transforming a small village into a world-famous centre for Land-Art.
His works, which complement the natural beauty of the scenery around his village, are created by its residents, using local, eco-friendly materials.
At first, many locals were sceptical. Busy with their everyday chores, they found it hard to justify volunteering to build such outlandish sculptures. However, Nikolay’s enthusiasm and dedication to his work soon ignited his neighbours’ creative spirit.
The villagers became his co-authors and the community became an artist colony. The conceptual folk craftwork that burgeoned from this unusual collaboration gained international attention.
Now this place holds the largest Land-Art festival in Russia – Archstoyanie. It attracts tourists from around the world, as well as Russian and international artists who exhibit their works.
Watch the story of Russian Land-Art pioneer Nikolay Polissky and his quest for inclusive creativity.
Watch RTD film Babel Village to learn more.