Earth Pathways Showcase

The theme of impermanence is never more clearly expressed than in these large-scale beach mandalas. Each one can be up to eighty metres wide and exists until the returning tide washes the sand clean. The tools are simply string and rake but the end result can be complex and precise and sometimes incorporates different shadings for added depth and perspective. I started drawing in the sand as a way of entertaining my children on holiday and was influenced by my fascination with crop circles in the early 2000s. Since then I have taken many commissions across the UK and abroad, and create annual community events in my home of West Wales. It is always a joy to create something on a beautiful beach, something that will be seen perhaps by just a handful of people, and then to watch it be reabsorbed by the sea. This sense of transience is perhaps the defining aspect of the work.

Sand Circles © Marc Treanor