Ok, so you’d never actually see a fully grown elephant playing chess with a mouse (a real shame in our opinion), but put this sculptures surreal subject and context to one side for just a minute to appreciate it for the detailed artwork that it is and you’d be forgiven for thinking that these photos were actually 3D renders.
Yet despite how precise and life-like they appear this is actually the work of Ray Villafane and Sue Beatrice. We’ve featured Villafane’s work before as the talented sculptor can normally be found carving impressive creations into pumpkins. This time around he teamed up with artist Sue Beatrice and the pair have outdone themselves with a sand sculpture of a nine-foot elephant named Chessie Trunkston playing chess with a tiny mouse named Hershel Higginbottom..
The incredible sculpture will be on display at the Sanderson Lincoln Pavillion in downtown Carefree, Arizona until August so if you’re in the area then it’s well worth a visit. If not you can appreciate it in the photos below.
