Japanese Devil, mermaid sculpture from dozens of tons of sand

Many unique works appeared at the 2025 Australian Sand Sculpture Championships such as the character Ursula from The Little Mermaid or Tengu - a demon in Japanese folklore.

The 2025 Australian Sand Sculpture Championships theme is "Villains in the Story" - Photo: PETER TARASIUK/THE GUARDIAN

The tournament is an opportunity for sculptors to show off their creative skills with dozens of tons of sand in a limited time, according to The Guardian .

Many unique sculptures from sand

The 2025 Australian Sand Sculpture Championships took place at Frankston Beach, south of Melbourne, Australia. The event returned for the first time since 2019, with the theme "Villains of the Story".

Artists have created giant sand sculptures depicting witches, wolves, Ursula and mermaids… All are familiar images from fairy tales and Disney movies.

Tasmanian artist Meg Murray's Screech of the Sea won the individual category.

The judges scored the sculptures based on creativity, adherence to theme and technique.

Normally, a sand sculpture can take up to two weeks to complete outside of competition conditions. However, here, the artists had just over two days to complete their work.

Tons of sand, 10 hours of sculpting every day

Yves Geradts, who won first place in 2019, titled his work Mirror Mirror , recreating the image of the witch from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs holding the poisoned apple. He took third place this year.

The Australian event is quite new compared to international competitions. Compared to foreign competitors, the Australian competition is more entertaining.

Artist Jino R van Bruinessen, 72, is this year's oldest entrant. His work depicts the Tengu, a demon from Japanese folklore.

He shared that the level of sculpture in Australia has "increased significantly", hoping to see more young faces trying their hand at this art form.

Unlike beach sand, the sand used in the competition is construction sand, which is more compact and easier to shape.

Individual competitors start with a 10-ton block of sand, while pairs receive 25 tons. The grueling schedule includes up to 10 hours of sculpting each day.

Josiah "Jazza" Brooks, 35, was a first-time participant with virtually no prior experience. He said the competition gave him the opportunity to work with and learn from experienced artists. "It doesn't hurt to give it a try," he said.

Read more Back to Topics

DAWN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/quy-nhat-ban-nang-tien-ca-dieu-khac-tu-hang-chuc-tan-cat-202504091222373.htm