As Russians across the country celebrated the start of the new year, an artist in northern Siberia marked 2017 in a unique way: with a giant rooster made of frozen manure.
Artist Mikhail Bopposov, a resident of Russia’s Sakha Republic, built the sculpture as part of an annual tradition of memorializing the year’s Chinese zodiac symbol in dung, the Sakha Life site reported.
This year, however, there was some doubt that Bopposov would finish his work in time. The artist injured his leg and wound up in the hospital.
After Bopposov partially recuperated, local fans of his work encouraged him to finish the rooster. Despite the delay and his injured leg, Bopposov completed his sculpture with the help of his brothers. The team put the final touches on the giant rooster on Dec. 31, just in time for the new year.
The rooster, which stands in Bopposov’s native village of Uolba, is 3.5 meters tall and 4.2 meters long.
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