While there is a simple beauty to the figures and creatures on display in Adam Morales’ Cypress Swamp Driftwood Family Museum in Pierre Part, Louisiana, the tall, craggy figures could just as easily be seen as eerie driftwood golems protecting the surrounding swampland. Either way, it’s a sight to behold.

The driftwood creations are all the work of Morales, made out of pieces of wood that he has scavenged from the swamp behind his house. Morales seems to have a special gift for finding the natural contours and signs of life in a piece of dead wood. He often simply attaches eyes to single pieces to create the members of his menagerie. More often than not though, Morales collects pieces of complimentary lumber, screwing them together to create his unique pieces, often creating huge figures that stand sentinel in his front yard gallery. Making the swampy collection even more haunting is the Spanish moss that Morales has covered some of his works in.  

Among his creations, visitors can find tributes to American symbols and landmarks like a driftwood Statue of Liberty and a recreation of the flag raising at Iwo Jima. Some of the figures are less defined, looking more like swamp monsters birthed to protect the natural wonder all around. There are small animals like pigs, alligators, and children. All throughout the finished pieces are bits of wood that Morales has separated out for a particular use, be they arms, swords, or some other feature.

Channeling the swampy land he calls home, Morales has created a gallery that could only exist in the spot it sits in. Morales has even added driftwood versions of himself and his family, completing a meta-artistic circle. Visitors are welcome to drop by and take a look at his fantastic homemade gallery, but be polite and see if he’s home, and maybe you can get a special tour from the man himself.