Environmental Graffiti

Seven Gigantic Rock Figures Rising from Beneath the Urals

Bursting out of a plateau in a remote region of the Ural Mountains, like the gnarled fingers of some giant subterranean monster, the seven rock formations of Manpupuner in the Komi Republic are as veiled in mystery as they sometimes are in snowstorms. Known as the “7 strong men”, these gargantuan stone towers are considered one of the Seven Wonders of Russia, and with its air of inscrutability, Manpupuner draws visitors from across its vast country.

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Paris Evolving Under the Gaze of Notre Dame’s Gargoyles

They sit perched atop dizzying heights, often unnoticed by human eyes but ever watchful of our movements. They have outlived us by centuries and under their gaze the story of a city's sins and changing face can be told. The gargoyles of the famous Notre Dame Cathedral – half man, half beast – preside over Paris, and have done so since the medieval era. To them, whole generations pass in the blink of a stony eye.

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A Man’s Home is His Castle

The old saying goes, ‘A man’s home is his castle’ but when Jim Bishop started building a meager stone cottage in the Colorado mountains in 1969 he had no idea how true this would turn out to be. Using stone from the adjacent national park (with a permit, of course), his attempts at building a stone cottage soon had passers-by commenting on its likeness to a castle.

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