The Hindus of Nusa Penida, Bali, Indonesia, carry out their annual Ngaben cremation on April 4, 2022, when they place the bones of those who have died over the past year on to floating animal forms in a ceremony that is said to release the souls of the deceased. (Photo by Gede Sudika/Solent News/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Picture of a float taking part in the “White Day” parade during the Carnival of Blacks and Whites in Pasto, Colombia on January 6, 2024. The Blacks and Whites carnival has its origins in a mix of Andean, Amazonian and Pacific cultural expressions, and it celebrates the ethnic diversity in the region and was proclaimed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in 2009. (Photo by Joaquín Sarmiento/AFP Photo)

A giant floating replica of the Brazilian Christ The Redeemer statue rolled into Melbourne today ahead of next week’s World Cup, and the city wasn’t overly pleased with the display.

Sculptor Ben Young (previously) just unveiled a collection of new glass sculptures prior to the Sculpture Objects Functional Art + Design (SOFA) Fair in Chicago next month. Young works with laminated clear float glass atop cast concrete bases to create cross-section views of ocean waves that look somewhat like patterns in topographical charts. The self-taught artist is currently based in Sydney but was raised in Waihi Beach, New Zealand, where the local landscape and surroundings greatly inspired his art.

We are all drawn to fire, entranced by its beauty and ferociousness. Its brilliance draws us in like moths to a candle flame. Thus, many of the celebrations that humans have involve lighting fires. They can be big or small; there could be many little lights or one giant inferno; they may float on water, burn on land, or rise high into the skies. Loi Krathong is a festival that is held each year in Thailand and a number of other places. During this festival thousands of little fires are lighted, presenting a marvelous sight for all the onlookers. It is believed that this tradition is an adaptation of Brahmanical festival, which was adopted by Thai Buddhists to honor Buddha.

A instructor (2nd L) from the Philippine Mermaid Swimming Academy assists participants of a monofin swimming summer workshop as they practise floating in the water of a private pool in Paranaque city, metro Manila April 5, 2014. The Philippine Mermaid Swimming Academy workshops, which were originally conducted on the beaches of Boracay Island, central Philippines, currently cost 1,800 pesos per person ($40) for a two-hour session. (Photo by Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

Herring worth millions in exports float dead in Kolgrafafjordur, a small fjord on the northern part of Snaefellsnes peninsula, west Iceland, for the second time in two months. Between 25,000 and 30,000 tons of fish died in December and more now, due to lack of oxygen in the fjord thought to have been caused by a landfill and bridge constructed across the fjord in December 2004. The current export value of the estimated 10,000 tons of herring amounts to $ 9.8 million, according to the newspaper “Morgunbladid”. (Photo by Brynjar Gauti/Associated Press)