Towering Wooden Set Pieces and Combustible Monuments by Manolo Garciaby Christopher Jobson on October 21, 2015

Spanish artist Manolo Garcia constructs towering replicas of renaissance-era sculptures, portraits, animals, and other decorative objects from his expansive workshop in Valencia, Spain. Garcia refers to his practice as ‘artistic carpentry’ and by looking at process photos of the studio’s work, that seems like a fair descriptor. Most of the set pieces, monuments, and sculptures built by Garcia begin with strips of wood that are applied to large architectural armature. The objects are usually so large they are first built in pieces and later assembled on-site.

Last March, Garcia participated in the annual Las Fallas (Fire Festival) in Valencia where a series of large artworks are set on fire at night as part of a Burning Man-esque spectacle. To be fair, the Fallas festivals in their current format pre-date the popular Nevada festival by about 44 years, and may have originated as far back as the Middle Ages.

You can see much more of Garcia’s work in this gallery. (via Juxtapoz, Artnau)

EJ2BEC Valencia, Spain. 20th Mar, 2015. The municipal falla monument ‘la Fuerza’ by artist Manolo Garcia goes up in flames during the ‘crema’ at the end of the Fallas Festival © Matthias Oesterle/ZUMA Wire/ZUMAPRESS.com/Alamy Live News