An animal enthusiast touches a Bearded Dragon displayed for sale as exotic pet at Thailand Reptile and Exotic Expo in Bangkok, Thailand, 02 August 2024. The Thailand Reptile and Exotic Expo is a trade showcase exhibiting hundreds of reptiles and exotic animals from breeders to sell as exotic pets for enthusiasts. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA)

Tony the ten-year-old tawny owl tucks himself on December 8, 2025 into a Christmas tree at the Scottish Owl Centre, West Lothian, where he was hatched and raised. (Photo by Katielee Arrowsmith/South West News Service)

People walk through Ginza’s shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, 15 December 2025. Japan’s economic focus is on the upcoming Bank of Japan (BOJ) meeting where the central bank is expected to raise its policy rate to combat inflation. The BOJ signaled a rate hike bar is cleared with the wage momentum still intact. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA)

The work “Naught: Bondi” by Milarky is seen pre-dawn at Sculpture by The Sea on October 18, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. A striking inflatable sculpture resembling a melanoma is set to be showcased at Sculpture by the Sea 2024, running from October 18 to November 4 along the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk. (Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)

A visitor takes a picture of illuminated sculptures on display at the Festival de lumiere “Light festival” at Paris Jardin des Plantes in Paris, France, 15 November 2024. Festival de lumiere “Light festival” runs in Paris from 20 November 2024 to 19 January 2025. (Photo by Mohammed Badra/EPA/EFE)

Environmentalists and protestors rallying against a gas project in the Gulf of California, which they say can endanger whales, arrive at Mexico City's Zocalo main square, Mexico on January 29, 2025. (Photo by Henry Romero/Reuters)

“My artwork shows, with the language of sculpture, the essence of matter and tries to reveal with the work, the hidden life within.”

“When I was 8 years old, my parents paid a smuggler to take me across the Himalayas, a weekslong walk over the mountains from Tibet to India. It was a trek that tens of thousands of other Tibetans have taken since the Dalai Lama fled a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. My parents must have had their reasons to send me here; they must have had the best of intentions. But 18 years later, I still don't know why they did it. They are not political people. They are small farmers who raise barley and a few yak in a rural area not far from Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. I have not seen them since I left...”. – Tsering Topgyal via The Associated Press. (Photo by Tsering Topgyal/AP Photo)