This man creates sand sculptures so detailed and realistic that they seem to come to life
Have you ever thought that art could be made with sand? The artist Andoni Bastarrika, originally from the Basque Country, seems to have amply demonstrated that he can create real works of art simply by using beach sand and with the aid of water and some makeshift tools. His animal sculptures are so detailed that they seem real! A horse, a docile baby elephant or a terrifying shark: they are only sand sculptures, but they seem to come to life on the shore, every time Andoni takes it into his head to create.
via Instagram / andoni_bastarrika_artista
Instagram / andoni_bastarrika_artista
This talented artist started using sand as the main tool for his work back in 2010 and, since then, he has never stopped. It all started when, during that hot summer of several years ago, in order to make his daughters happy, Andoni started playing with the sand, creating a Little Mermaid. Technically it wouldn't have been Andoni's best artistic work, but it was the springboard.
Instagram / andoni_bastarrika_artista
Once he became familiar with his hands and with what they seemed to be able to achieve under the right conditions - handling the sand - Andoni never stopped and continued to cultivate his talent for the following 10 years.
Instagram / andoni_bastarrika_artista
Sometimes he uses other materials integrated into his works, to give an even greater note of realism to the sculpture: for example, for the horns and hooves of the bull, one of his famous sculptures, he used other materials. But mainly, Andoni uses simple sand. The humidity then does the rest: every time he creates a sculpture, innumerable sand particles come into action, attaching to each other thanks to the humidity factor.
Instagram / andoni_bastarrika_artista
When the work is complete, Andoni can be satisfied, but he knows that his works will soon disappear thanks to the wind and the tides. Nonetheless, his works remain etched in the minds of many people, tourists and swimmers, who are enchanted by the realism of certain sculptures.
Instagram / andoni_bastarrika_artista
To follow his art, you can visit the Instagram page where the photos of his most beautiful works are collected.
