Brief reminder of Part 1 (without mistake ) :
Sand sculpture competitions are organised all over the world. The artists create their works from moist, compacted sand.
Sand sculptures can take on unmaginable shapes and sizes. The largert sculptures can weigh 5000, tonnes and take around a hundred hours to complete. The artist always start at the top of his work. A theme is defined by the organising festival. While respecting the imposed subject, the artists have all the latitudes they need for their creations. For example, the higly successful Ostend festival features up to 150 sculptures requiring more than 60000, tonnes of sand over an area of 10000, m2.
It ' s hard not to think of Théo Mercier ' s exibition at the Conciergerie in Paris in early 2023. The artist has transformed the Salle des Gens d ' Armes into a cathedral of sleep and a shelter for dreams. Under the vaults of the Palais, the colour of the sand echoes that of the stone. There are unmake sand beds and soft pilows, watched over by sand dogs. These sculptures are accompanied by a sound and light installation to materialise invisible presences.
It ' s hard not to be facinated by the gigantic scale of some of these statues. Admitedly, most of these sculptures have only one colour, but sometimes the creator opts for a different look with coloured sand. The detail is incredible, and the depth perception creates reliefs that are astonishigly realistic.
To those of you who remain anonymous, hats off to the artists for your ephemeral works! |
