Holy Crap – A Giant Mechanical Elephant
08. Aug, 2008 
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Yes, this isn’t really new – its been around since 2005. But come on, its a giant freaking mechanical elephant.
Can you think of anything more amazing? No I didn’t think so.
The Sultan’s Elephant is a show created by the Royal de Luxe theatre company, involving a huge moving mechanical elephant and other associated public art installations. In French it is called La visite du sultan des Indes sur son éléphant à voyager dans le temps (literally, “Visit From The Sultan Of The Indies On His Time-Traveling Elephant”).
The elephant is made mostly of wood, and is operated by over ten puppeteers using a mixture of hydraulics and motors. It weighs 42 tons, as much as 7 African elephants. A replica of the elephant was built in Nantes, France in 2007, as part of the Machines of the Isle of Nantes permanent exhibition. And yes, its built so people can ride it. Let me say that again, YOU CAN RIDE THE GIANT MECHANICAL ELEPHANT.
They’ve brought part of the show to Sydney before, the giant wooden marionette which was part of one of the Biennale’s (I forget which one). It was pretty impressive. But it definitely wasn’t as amazing as a GIANT MECHANICAL ELEPHANT.
More pics, details and a video after the jump.
“A team of machine builders have set up their workshop in the industrial warehouses of the former shipyards, at the heart of the Ile de Nantes. The designers let their imaginations roam from the treetops, the savannah to the ocean depths, building a bestiary of living machines to populate this area under redevelopment. The Great Elephant, the Marine Worlds and the Heron Tree are urban sculptures open to the public. Like doors to the world of dreams and magical journeys, they give this island a mysterious feel as if we were back to the time when the vessels set sail to travel around the world.” – François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice
And lots of great photos of this and other things from the show at Dark Roasted Blend.
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Saw that in London last year. All major roads in the centre of the city were shut to traffic one Sunday afternoon. Staring down Piccadilly, over a sea of 1,000s, seeing a 40 ft elephant walking towards me was a sight to behold….