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Heroes

31 photos of sculptures that will make you think so many deep thoughts.

Right now in Sydney, Australia, you can walk down a beautiful beach and see dozens of jaw-dropping, mind-bending sculptures.

Billed as the "world's largest annual free-to-the-public outdoor sculpture exhibition," "Sculpture by the Sea" was started 18 years ago on a budget of just $11,000 and now draws over 500,000 visitors a year. These amazing photos were taken by Lisa Maree Williams.

Despite the idyllic setting, the sculptures are — like most art — intended to make you think deep thoughts.


While it's impossible to know which deep thoughts the artists were going for (and it's rude to ask), these are my best guesses. Your deep thoughts may vary. Unlimited deep thoughts per customer.

1. "The Bottles" by RCM Collective

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Stop throwing plastic bottles into the ocean, or one day they'll gain sentience and seek revenge on your terrified children.

2. "Transmigration" by Jeremy Sheehan

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Dumping chemicals in the ocean poisons fish, which leads, ultimately, to rickety birds.

3. "Half Gate" by Matthew Asimakis, Clarence Lee, and Caitlin Roseby

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

We can make our prisons more humane. Just maybe don't make it so easy to escape.

4. "The Navigator" by Calvert and Schiltz

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

There's nothing more soothing than riding a hyena into the sea. Nothing.

5. "Open" by Peter Lundberg

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Let's talk to each other more. Preferably through giant stone holes, if possible.

6. "Outside-in" by William Feuerman

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

If I see the sculpture, does the sculpture ... see me?

7. "Surfer's Paradise" by James Rogers

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Life's too short to always speak into the correct end of the megaphone.

8. "Space Time Continuum v4" by Clayton Thompson

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

The universe is, like, big, man.

9. "Fun" by Naidee Changmoh and "Fabrication" by Veronica Herber

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Get that baby an agent!

10. "Voyagers I & II" by Margarita Sampson

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Again, be kind to the birds, even if they're slow-moving and flightless.

11. "Cairn" by Morgan Jones

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

A moment of silence, please.

12. "The Thing Which Has Come Here" by Masayuki Sugiyama

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Obsidian sea monsters deserve love too.

13. "Meditation" by Seung Hwan Kim

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Please be more careful when stacking the chairs.

14. "Divided Planet" by Jörg Plickat

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Love is kinda neat.

15. "Cradle of Form" by Elyssa Sykes-Smith

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Don't play a big game of Jenga on top of a mountain.

16. "Harbour" by Chen Wenling

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Outdoor yoga is the slam.

17. "Forest" by Deborah Sleeman

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

If you keep putting poison into the air, we'll basically be left with tiny chickens, fish tails, and mushrooms made of metal, in terms of nature.

18. "Keep Safe/Keepsake" by Sandra Pitkin

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Seriously. If you keep putting poison into the air, we're going to have to take all the trees and put them in boxes so you idiots can't hurt them anymore. Remember this Joni Mitchell song? That was a warning. We will seriously make the tree museum happen.

19. "Dust" by Norton Flavel

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Maybe giants don't do jazz hands.

20. "The Bell" by Ruth Liou

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Why do lighthouses have to be so tall, anyway?

21. "Intuitive Sense of Connection" by Andrea Vinkovic

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

We humans may fight, hurt, even kill each other, but at the end of the day, we are all one medium-sized lattice ball.

22. "Wind Blowing" by Koichi Ishino

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

When you trust fall into the sea, everyone wins.

23. "Cycle of Life" by Ron Gomboc

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

"The Lion King" still holds up pretty well.

24. "Lonis" by Robert Hague

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Aren't we all the king of the world? Sometimes?

25. "Crate Poems" by Alessandra Rossi

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Maybe a bottle isn't the best delivery mechanism for a message after all.

26. "Conspicuous Consumption" by Benson Sculpture

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Maybe let's not waste so much paper all the time?

27. "Open Home" by Kate Carroll and "Fabrication" by Veronica Herber

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Do I really need to knock down that wall to build a home office? Do I really need the extra space?

28. "Middleground" by Philip Spelman

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Relationships are hard work.

29. "Acoustic Chamber" by Arissara Reed and Davin Nurimba

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Listen to your heart when he's calling for you.

30. "Wave 2" by Annette Thas

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Seriously. Stop throwing plastic into the ocean.

31. "The Bridge" by Linda Bowden

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Be good to one another. And enjoy the sunset!

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