Stargate - sand sculpture

There have been many different theories on how the pyramids came to be. Yes, of course we know that they were tombs of the great Pharaohs but how they were actually built is still in many ways a mystery. Lifting those massive perfectly cut stones into place seems like it was almost done by magic but like all great feats of humanity or should I say 'inhumanity' it was probably the work of slaves.

Of course there are also the suggestions that they were made but Aliens or inter-dimensional beings and that was the idea behind this massive sculpture. It was probably one of the biggest sculptures I have worked on. Of course I have worked on bigger projects but this all read as one piece and for that I am very proud.

Canvas of the Gods

Just look at this wall of sand. Inside all of this shuttering are thousands of tonnes of compacted sand just wanting to become something special.

What always annoyed me about these big projects is that when you have so many different sculptors carving they all want to make their own thing but for me, this year at least, I really fought for the idea of making one big piece together. All sculptors could still do there own little elements but it really should all come together as one.
That was my feeling anyway. Why else would you prepare such a large wall of sand and then divided it into many different sculptures.

There were many who did not agree but I and a few others got them compromise a little and have to at least have some elements that would pull everything together compositionally. (My spellcheck doesn't like that word but I do). Sometimes you really need to fight for what you believe if you trust it will produce the best outcome and I think I was the one most in fighting spirit.

13 of us worked on this over 100 meter long wall. All at different skill levels and egos, convincing everyone to play their part was a challenge that I decided to step up to the plate and embrace. I even got the nick name of 'Boss' although I think it was was in a good way.

I really felt that my knowledge of working in film as a wannabe director came into play. It is all about diplomacy. Trying to fit whatever people can best doing into the bigger picture. I did not design the overall thing it but In all discussions I tried to push for ideas which would fit together well.

Centering on the center

Edith Van Der Wetering, @stijgerart and myself worked on the stargate itself. The overall idea was to have the blocks of stone flowing through the whole sculpture and being sucked into the stargate, finally assembling on the other side as the pyramids.

As a team of three we work quite well together because we have a similar vision on how things should be. Wilfred and I have a technical mind and when it came to working out how to make the circle frame we had to think outside the box literally. We needed to set up a compass jig with a string and pole that we could leave there till the end to mark out all the circles. At over 6 meters tall it was important to have this guild because we were not able to see where the circle was inside the forms. Having a point in space that would be the center worked a treat.

The rest of the group split into two teams, each for the left and right sides. They were to make different Egyptian Gods and figures moving the whole composition of rocks towards the center.

As long as the Wall of rocks had a nice movement to it I was happy with everything else and I really liked the way the all brought their sections together.

I spent my time working on the big gate frame and the blocks making their finally journey. It was a crazy amount of carving with many straight edges which I really hate making but in the end I knew it would all be worth it. Edith and Wilfred created the pyramids on the other side, Making them float was a really nice touch.

Above is an image of the finished piece. It is a montage panorama shot and really worth seeing full size if you click the image.
I really loved the way it all came together as one big sculpture and not like how these larger sculptures seem to be made nowadays with different scenes as the sculptors all want to just worry about their own area and forget about what everyone else is doing. Being able to make a sculpture this size as part of a team really shows the power of sand as a material and how working for the greater good can lead to some very impressive results.

Here is the team. I forgot to say it pissed rain for the full project and as can be seen we were all drenched through.
Great job Matika, Linda, Jeroen, Ritta, Oscar, Edith, Jobi, Wilfred, Martijn, Bob, Rodrigo, Hanneke and little old ammonite.

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Ps

Thanks for reading. I use PeakD to document my work as an ephemeral Sculptor of sand, snow and ice, amongst other things. This will hopefully give it a new life on the Hive Blockchain. Below you will find some of my recent posts.