To produce the images that convey his fatalistic and ironic approach to life, tinged with hope, he needed the environment and knowledge of Mother Russia, oiled with a bit of bribery to certain circus trainers. Enter the Great Russian Bear, the personification of Russia for the last several centuries, onto center stage and into his studio. The bear is recognized as both brutish and cute – Misha was the mascot for the 1980 Olympic Games – and has remained a symbol of Russia since Tsarist times. In 2009 it is the symbol of the United Russia Party.

“Residents in a small town littered with giant potholes may be ready to “crack” the art world – after turning their massively damaged roads into hilarious masterpieces. Fun-natured drivers from Scranton, Pennsylvania have been challenged by an arts group to turn the ugly craters in their neighborhood into pothole art”. – Caters News. Photo: Cereal bowl pothole. (Photo by Caters News)

The photography of Art Wolfe covers the globe, capturing landscapes, wildlife, and cultures from every continent; here he talks through a selection of his favourite images. Art Wolfe is an American photographer and conservationist. His photographs have been noted by environmental advocacy groups for their “stunning” visual impact. Here: Snowy owlets (Bubo scandiacus), Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA. (Photo by Art Wolfe/Art Wolfe Stock)

A woman walks past a mural painting on a street in Tokyo, Japan on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. (Photo by Koji Sasahara/AP Photo)

Inside the new Digital Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan on June 21, 2018. These incredible photos show what it looks like inside a groundbreaking new digital art museum in Japan. A trip to the Mori Building Digital Art Museum: teamLab Borderless in Tokyo, which opened last week, can make you feel like they you are dreaming and aims to fully immerse visitors in the art. Spanning a spacious 10,000 square metres, 520 computers and 470 high-tech projectors create the illusion that the visitor is wandering through rice fields, following shoals of fish or even bouncing on a galaxy of planets. (Photo by South West News Service)

A man takes a picture of the mural painted by the street artist Harry Greb depicting the Italian music composer Ennio Morricone, a day after the 91-year-old composer's death, on July 7, 2020 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)

The comet Neowise, or C/2020 F3, is seen in the evening sky above the artwork titled: “Seven Magic Mountains” by artist Ugo Rondinone, Thursday, July 16, 2020, near Jean, Nev., south of Las Vegas. (Photo by John Locher/AP Photo)

Visitors walk past sculptures on display as part of the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Sydney on October 29, 2019. Sculpture by the Sea is the world's largest annual, free-to-the-public, outdoor sculpture exhibition. (Photo by Peter Parks/AFP Photo)