And it was amazing!
I have so many photos but I don't want to bore you so I'll try and select just a few. The theme for this year's exhibition was 'What if ...' and the artists involved, who came from all over the world came up with lots of different takes, some serious reflecting on world events and politics, others more light-hearted, others just plain weird. The festival has been running for a number of years now but sand sculpting isn't a new thing. They had photographs of similar sculptures from the early twentieth century.
What if they are trying to divide us? (A comment on Brexit, Trump and tariffs, Putin and fake news.)
What if we were controlled by aliens?
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| Front |
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| Reverse |
What if the dog ate your shoe?
At the end there was a bit where you could have a go yourself so of course I had to. There were simple clear instructions ...
A few facts.
The sculptures are made with sand and water. That's all. Weston sand is very fine sharp sand, ideal for this purpose. The finished sculptures are sprayed with a light water repellent to prevent too much rain damage but that's the only aid. They last for months. And if you touch them - ignoring the many 'Do NOT touch the sculptures' signs - they are solid, like cement. (I was very gentle and careful.) They're very big and the exhibition is outdoor.
The exhibition is there until the end of August when the sculptures will be destroyed and the sand returned to the beach.
5 comments:
here (http://www.savory.de/blog_sep_18.htm#20180928) are some sand sculptures we saw in Lithuania last year.
Thank you, Stu. They are amazing. There are festivals all over the world apparently.
Yes, if your sculpture had a big cigar in its mouth, it would be the spitting image of Churchill!
Oddly enough, my city Edmonton in the landlocked province of Alberta just hosted an international sand sculpture contest and exhibition too. The sculptures were very impressive, I must say. Every winter we have a similar ice sculpting event, which seems to suit our natural climate better.
That's impressive, Debra. Did they have to ship in the sand?
I would think so. I can't imagine where they would have got it otherwise. Unless from a cement/concrete factory or something -- don't they use sand in that process? We DO put sand on our icy roads and highways in the winter time too, but I doubt if sand from either of those sources would be sufficiently high-grade for sculpting purposes?
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