The Artist Who Creates Sand Sculptures So Perfect It’s Hard To Believe They Aren’t Real

Andoni Bastarrika forged his own path in the art world and became a well-known sculptor. Born in Azpeitia, in the Basque Country, Bastarrika creates sand sculptures with absurd realism, using only his hands, toothpicks and a brush. It was by accident that he discovered what his mission in this life was: to bring people together through art and imagination. And despite more than ten years creating beautiful sand sculptures, he says: “I’m still discovering what my hands can do, because it’s the sand that dictates the shape it wants to adopt”.

O awesome.club interviewed Andoni Bastarrika and will show you a little more about his life and how his work is his way of re-signifying the word freedom.

It is important to mention that Bastarrika is a self-taught artist. Before diving into the world of the arts, he owned a fruit shop and worked as a shiatsu therapist. “The shiatsu experience taught me to see the world through my hands,” he said. It wasn’t until the summer of 2010, while lounging on the beach with his daughters, that he discovered his talent. They asked for his help to finish a sand sculpture and that’s how he realized a new vocation.

To create her beautiful sculptures, Bastarrika needs a lot of sand, and all the work is done by hand; he likes to feel and touch the sand. As a reference, he always uses an image of what he intends to create, but most of his inspiration comes directly from his imagination. In general, a sculpture takes between 6 and 12 hours to complete. After a few photos, he either lets the wind take his art and transforms it into other things, or he destroys it himself, mainly to free up the public space where he usually works.

Bastarrika’s work, unlike what happens to many artists, is a beautiful display of humility. “Working with sand can be quite challenging,” says the artist, “mainly because I work with low-quality sand, which means I can’t build very tall sculptures. However, the sand has always been my great teacher, and I think my trajectory shows the dangers of letting yourself be dominated by the ego, or going too fast”.

Contrary to what the modern world often tries to convince us, the destruction of its works of art represents our brief passage through Earth, as well as our decline. “My aim is to represent freedom and impress people with universal beauty,” said Bastarrika. And nothing is more universal than the passage of time that these living sculptures convey. Perhaps Bastarrika’s work conveys a sense of freedom precisely because wear and tear is a price we all must pay.

Bastarrika confesses not knowing where this adventure will take him and claims he doesn’t know where it came from either. Despite his great humility, the Spanish artist has already been hired by Spanish municipalities to make sculptures and transmit his knowledge to other people, in addition to being sought after by talent scouts from the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. “In general, I look forward to giving new workshops in the summer. I enjoy working with children, but I’m open to working anywhere. It could be Australia, Africa or Europe”.

Bastarrika asked us to pass on the following message to our readers: “Now is the time to make art and live peacefully; lead a simple but happy life”. What would you say to him? Do you agree with this statement? Do you think that art is still a way of fighting for happiness? Share your opinion in the comments.