Discover the Mysterious Stories Behind 6 Bizarre Shark Statues Worldwide

Sharks—nature’s toothy torpedoes—have long been the villains of the deep, thanks in no small part to their colossal chompers and that nerve-wracking scene in Jaws that still makes water swims borderline terrifying. But here’s a curious thought: if sharks aren’t really the serial man-eaters we make them out to be, why are we so obsessed with crafting these bizarre, jaw-dropping sculptures of them around the world? From a great white bursting out of a banana in Australia to a massive inflatable shark cruising through a Maryland building like it owns the place, these artistic sharks are making serious waves—both literally and figuratively. So, in honor of Shark Week 2026 kicking off July 26, let’s dive into six utterly unusual shark statues that prove sometimes, art bites harder than the real thing. LEARN MORE

Sharks are as fascinating as they are misunderstood. Thanks to their large razor-sharp teeth and their prominence in horror movies—Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) being the most famous example—it’s easy to see why they’ve developed a killer reputation, despite not actually being responsible for all that many human deaths.

But while some people are terrified of sharks, others have been inspired to create artworks of the big toothy fish. So in honor of Shark Week 2026—which starts later this week on July 26—here are six unusual shark statues and sculptures around the world that have made waves.

1. Sharnana // Australia
2. Sunken Shark Movie Prop // Switzerland
3. The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living // England and New York
4. Chompie // Maryland
5. The Headington Shark // England
6. Sharks! // England

Sharnana // Australia

For a few weeks in 2024, visitors to Sydney’s Bondi Beach could view a great white shark bursting out of a peeled banana. Created by Drew McDonald, the strange sculpture—appropriately titled Sharnana—was displayed as part of the Sculpture by the Sea art exhibition and won both the Allens People’s Choice Award and the Kids’ Choice Prize.

The shark-banana hybrid is made out of recycled plastic, steel, and calcium carbonate and is a little over seven feet long and four feet tall. So why did McDonald want to merge the fish and fruit in the first place?

“To stop, admire and question the reality of a shark coming out of a peeled banana is to question what it means to exist on a rock floating in space,” the artist explains. “I’ve always seen life as absurd. I want my art to be absurd too, but in a joyous, engaging way.”

Although Sharnana only enjoyed a brief stint by the sea, the statue can still be viewed at Moon Mountain Sanctuary—a farm in Queensland for rescue horses that is also an open-air art gallery.

Sunken Shark Movie Prop // Switzerland

The world’s oceans are home to all manner of scary things—from creepy deep sea creatures to an eerie sunken cemetery—but lakes can also hide terrifying objects in their depths. For instance, from the shore, Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland looks serene, but anyone who dives beneath the surface will find a terrifying 20-foot-long shark statue lying in wait.

Although the shark looks fairly cartoonish on a second glance, seeing teeth that big emerge out the darkness must be a chilling experience. The shark has resided at the bottom of the Swiss lake for almost two decades, winding up there after being used as a prop in the short film Choc Au Lac! (2007). Presumably, the movie’s crew decided to just leave the shark behind after filming had wrapped—much to the delight of some thrill-seeking divers.

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living // England and New York

Damien Hirst was launched to fame in the 1990s thanks to an art series that utilized dead animals—the most famous of which was a 14-foot-long tiger shark suspended in formaldehyde in a glass display case.

Titled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, the artwork cost £50,000 ($67,000) to create, with the shark itself costing £6,000 ($8,000). The tiger shark had been caught off the coast of Australia’s Queensland, with Hirst requesting that the fisherman catch him a shark “big enough to eat you.”

The artwork was first displayed in 1991 in London’s Saatchi Gallery, but the shark soon started to decay (Hirst thought that the gallery’s curators had added bleach to the tank). In 1993, the shark’s skin was removed and fit over a fiberglass mold, but Hirst was unhappy with the result: “It didn’t look as frightening… You could tell it wasn’t real. It had no weight.”

In 2006, a new shark was caught and a more thorough preservation process was used to ensure that it wouldn’t rot like its predecessor. This version was displayed in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art between 2007 and 2010.

Hirst also scarified a few other sharks to star in similar artworks, including a great white shark and a basking shark. Understandably, this drew the criticism of animal rights groups, who estimate that he’s killed almost 1 million animals (a number which includes insects) for his art.

Chompie // Maryland