Kazakhstan: Fake legs mark out potholes

A group of artists in Kazakhstan has come up with a novel way of highlighting potholes on the streets of the country's former capital, Almaty.

The Guerrilla creative house has placed fake legs sticking out of 10 holes around the city, giving the impression someone has fallen in head-first. The aim is to alert pedestrians and also lets drivers see the hole from a distance, the artists told the Tengrinews site. "We approached the issue with irony. Rather than make the usual hue and cry about holes in the roads being bad, we simply highlighted the problem and showed it needs sorting".

The artists dressed the legs in brightly-coloured socks to make them all the more visible. They are made of papier-mache, and so can't cause pedestrians many injuries. "People are paying attention, and writing in social media to thank us. This should solve the problem after a while," a Guerrilla activist said, perhaps optimistically. The artists scored a hit with an earlier campaign, when they drew bullseyes around litter bins to help people dispose of rubbish accurately.

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