Nightmare Playgrounds, Part 2

"QUANTUM SHOT" #415(rev) Link - article by Avi Abrams Manic-depressive creativity, family-friendly style The smorgasbord of weird playground structures, started in our Part 1, continues here. Granted, some lovely sculptures shown here may positively impress a child with their unapologetic and all-constraints-be-damned weirdness - but most of these "nightmare palygrounds" are so tasteless and ugly that they're bordering on insanity. A multitude of these bizarre apparitions still exists in the former Communist countries - proving two things: that perhaps adults like them, and that kids would play in just about any environment. A few examples illustrate the elements of Slavic fairy tales, others make do with miserable (decapitated, or worse) animals and evil-looking, nightmarish characters. (photo by Olga Shvetz) Dr. Aibolit (his name loosely translates as "Dr. Ouch!") shows his ugly face inside Moscow Children Hospital: (image credit: cherski) Somebody wrote "cadaver-eating orcs" over this endearing Teletubby character (in Moscow) - Some heinous crime scene, seen in a village close to Odessa: Impaled Baba Yaga, who seems to strangely enjoy the experience: ... and a red-skinned Kaschei Bessmertny (loosely translated as "The Immortal Bone-man") afraid for his treasure: Decapitated monkeys (their bodies are attached to another attraction) - ... and a poor puppy, nailed to a tree (Rostov-na-Donu): Faring even worse, this Little Red Riding Hood is ruthlessly bound (though not gagged) to a tree in the same palyground in Rostov-na-Donu - One half of hippopotamus: Cow / baths hybrids, spotted in Eilat, Israel: These Lovecraft-ian snails invade a playground near St. Petersburg: In light of all the cruelty and abominations shown above, the "mosquito slide", found in Germany, looks positively normal: (image credit: Valentin Laube) So... what do you do when the only available material is some pieces of plumbing and pipes lying around? Use them to make a modernist slide (with birds standing guard all around it): (photos by Detsky Dvor) The playground shown above is actually quite cool, kudos to the inventive artists. Just as the trapped mouse below is also pretty neat (again Eilat, Israel) - We'll pause here for a moment, while you draw breath to plunge deeper into a maniacal urban art territory: Again, the locations of these playgrounds are mostly in Russia and Ukraine: - St. Petersburg - Komsomolsk-na-Amure - Astana, Kazakhstan - Khmelnitzky, Ukraine - Lvov, Ukraine LOTS of imagination required This is a ship, got it? - (photo by Katryuk Dvoeglazova) That thing does NOT rotate: Get a (never-ending) exercise: Giant vegetable thing (St. Petersburg) - Mysterious little monsters in Stary Oskol, Belgorod region: (photos by NordProd) At least this little guy on the left is recognizable as "Cheburashka": This must be a hedgehog: This lovely lady even got some make-up: (photo by Aleksis1978) If it's monsters you seek, then monsters we got! Here is a stunningly bizarre group of sculptures (supposedly for kids) in the middle of Starokonstantinov. I like this one... can even see myself playing here: (photos by Archiverba) See more pictures of this "zoo" here Let's raise the "freaky factor" up a notch again... (I wonder if any impressionable parent would "blow a fuse" at this point) - Certainly a "perfect" sculpture to beautify any kid's playground? - (Kid's playground in Rostov-na-Donu) And we finish with a stunning rendition of a character that might haunt you for days (just keep looking at it, for better effect) - Sources: Detsky Dvor, English Russia, Exler Article by Avi Abrams, Dark Roasted Blend. CONTINUE TO PART 3! -> READ PART 1 HERE -> Read the rest of "Architectural Horrors" series! ->