Daniel Popper is a sculptor from Cape Town who makes giant human figures out of concrete, fibreglass, steel and wood, often with plants growing out of them. Many of his works are large enough to walk into or through. He made his name with installations at music festivals, including Boom in Portugal, Electric Forest in the United States and Rainbow Serpent in Australia, and built Anima, a seven-metre figure, for Electric Daisy Carnival in 2019.
Where to see his sculptures now
Popper’s own site lists these permanent works:
- Boomland, Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal, the home of Boom Festival
- Wynwood, Miami, Florida, installed in 2024
- Nuanu Village, Tabanan, Bali, installed in 2022
- Umi, Aurora, Colorado. Umi was made for Human+Nature, Popper’s exhibition at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, which ran from May 2021 to February 2023. It now stands permanently in Hogan Park at The Aurora Highlands
Thrive, an eight-metre figure of a woman opening her cracked chest to reveal ferns, was installed at Society Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 2020.
How he works
Most of Popper’s figures are female heads and torsos, eyes closed and heads tilted, with gardens or openings at their centre. At festivals they are often lit with LEDs and projection mapping. The pandemic stopped festival commissions in 2020, and he turned to more permanent public works.
The essentials
- Artist: Daniel Popper, sculptor, Cape Town
- Materials: concrete, fibreglass, steel, wood and plants
- Permanent works: Portugal, Miami, Bali, Colorado
- Website: danielpopper.com