giant sculptural sea monster emerges from the ruins of a historic village in france

french artist and creative explorer APACH — the pseudonym of thomas voillaume — has created a monster within the otherwise serene surroundings at the nature reserve of val d’escreins in france. ‘kraken’ is a giant sculptural and skeletal sea squid that appears to emerge from architectural ruins of the former village there. the site, it’s mysterious previous life, and its eventual destruction was of great interest to the artist, who developed a story of a great beast’s monumentous journey based on the structural remains he found.

the work has been devised by french artist and creative explorer APACH

emerging from the ruins at val d’escreins, APACH’s ‘kraken’ is seamlessly integrated into the landscape — both natural and artificial. the artist describes the narrative around the piece: ‘what happened in this village that is no more than a ruin? in 1916, for mysterious reasons that give free rein to legends, the village was burned down. in the absence of the men mobilized during the war, it could not be saved and was abandoned. was it a fire? arriving in this remote valley of the world, in this ruined old village with gutted houses, overhung by mountains with sharp peaks, looking at these old stones beaten by the times it seemed to me to be a story…that of the mountain kraken, a fierce beast, a monster of the ancient times who lives in high altitudes and is feared by valiant mountaineers..’

a monster emerges from the otherwise serene surroundings at the nature reserve of val d’escreins in france

‘kraken’ is a giant sculptural and skeletal sea squid

the body appears to climb from architectural ruins of the former village

making-of process on site at val d’escreins in france

the village, and its eventual destruction, was of great interest to the artist

h/t [colossal]