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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! ->





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YOUR COMMENTS::

2 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

The very first photo (credited to Olga Shvetz) appears to be a simple plastic pony tilted up on its forelegs, its hind legs becoming arms, with a face painted on the upper surface of its tail.

___  
Anonymous Michelle said...

Obviously designed by people who have never had children :)

Although, honestly, some of these places I would probably have liked when I was a kid. Yep, I was a bit weird.

Thanks for the photos.

___  

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