This is the place where creative ideas are born and new sculptures are created. Among them are the statues of Abai Kunanbaiuly, Makhambet and Issatai, and other historical figures. The Kazakh sculptor Bolatbek Salayev creates his artwork in the workshop located near Nur-Sultan. The young artist has dozens of successful works, which can be found in different parts of Kazakhstan.
“Our sculptures are found in all cities of the country, in Almaty, Nur-Sultan, Kostanai, Aktau, Atyrau, as well as in the districts,” the sculptor said.
It’s all good now, however the sculptor has come a long way before he became famous in his circles. Salayev had an interest in art from the age of three. Having received an education and gained experience, he began taking orders from large organizations and then from local administrations of various levels.
“We use different materials in our work, such as bronze, plaster cast, fiberglass and sometimes wood, depending on the order,” Salayev added.
The height of the sculptures is simply astonishing! Only the monument to Karatai Batyr, located in the eastern Kazakhstan, reaches seven meters. Just so you understand the scale, for example this monument is only 3.5-meter-long!
In order to create such masterpieces, sculptors use a stepladder over five meters high. However, every work begins with a sketch and consists of many stages. So, sometimes it takes at least three months to make a single statue.
“Before we start the main work, we make a small copy first, and then we make a larger sculpture. If it’s a famous person, then we are looking at his or her photograph, and if it’s just, let’s say, an abstract image of a mother and a child, then we are doing everything ourselves,” the artist noted.
Photographs of Salayev’s magnificent sculptures have gained popularity on social media. He has already made 40 sculptures. And this is only the beginning, he says.
Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova
Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova
Web-editor: Admin
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