By Grace Su

　　In a living statue, just as the name implies, somebody transforms himself or herself into a statue. Last year, I came across an article in a magazine describing living statues in the streets of some Australian cities. The article was vividly written, except that there was not even a single picture; one could only imagine what a scene it would have been!

　　All the harder, then, to believe that I ran into the 'wonder' in Barcelona this year. The performers - the living statues - were street artists at Las Ramblas.

　　Las Ramblas is the most famous street in Barcelona. Especially in summer, thousands of tourists go to the seaside by passing through this street, making it a centre of shops and bazaars. Not only can you find tourists there, but also thieves, swindlers, cops... among whom the living statue artists are the most special group.

　　They were covered with greasepaint in different colours, wearing season-disproportional clothes, standing on a pedestal for several hours without making even a single move. Are they real or fake, the guests were wondering... and then suddenly the statues came to life, just for a few seconds to shift positions. But the movement of the statues seemed like someone just had breathed life into them. They really do look like statues, and that's how they got their name.

　　Usually there is a jar or a hat in front of them. They would change to another pose whenever some tourist put a coin in the hat. You may take photos after giving a Euro, or even less, but be careful not to touch the statues, unless you want yourself to be covered in paint. It's a really special experience, don't you think?

　　For Chinese people, this is undoubtedly a surprising style of art and way of making a living. I haven't seen or heard any report at all about living statues in Chinese cities. Body painting of course sometimes can be seen, but it's not quite the same as having a living statue.

　　The photographer please contact Chinaweek editor at ljhjason@126.com