A 42-years-old French artist living in Biarritz, Aquitania, France is doing wonders with just a rake, on deserted beaches. His art is not easy to read, you need an aerial, far-away view, to really acknowledge the beauty of it. Technically, its art can be defined as land art and is influenced by the street art, although you might say it has nothing to do with the street.
Sam Dougados is the name of the artist and in his own words, he draws “at low tide, huge frescos on the beach”, using a rake. This is his way of transforming a very well known place into something completely new to get people thinking and ask themselves if they really knew that place in the first place. “My work is characterized a geometry and poetry that makes us stop and reflect on the magic of a moment, our relationship with nature, and the very essence of our beings”, says Sam.
Sam’s work is a completely different kind of expression, his art is an art in itself and there are very few to none when it comes to standards judging his art. We love this kind of artists who create their own techniques and arts and bring something new to the art world.
Sam is not doing this just for fun. He seems committed. He’s been drawing geometrical forms on more than 60 different beaches, in 11 countries from all over the globe. His art form is more complex than you’d expect. He’s also the photographer responsible for sharing with the whole world the beauty of it. “My work is double since once the sand drawing is completed, I took shots in the different angles that gives me the cliff overlooking the beach before the tide erases all within hours. I try to capture nature’s fleeting, ephemeral beauty, create a certain atmosphere in the picture, improve the poetry and create a real second artwork”, says Sam.
The saddest thing is that his art does not last, the sea will wash away his work in hours, but he’s still doing it. His works won’t hang in a museum gallery one day, his artwork is as fragile as a human life and it needs to be cherished and looked after for as much as it lasts. He’s not creating for the future and glory, he’s making art for the passing moment which might have more importance than anything and which is badly overlooked by most of us.
See, we only live in the future or the past. We think about the next Monday going back to work and having to put up with annoying clients once again, we think about going in vacation, we also think about the people we’ve lost or some good time we had last summer. All this means living in the past. We never think on the present, this very moment you’re reading this, sitting comfortably in your chair, on your way to work. Think this moment and one moment at a time, life would look much easier!
Now, going back to Sam Dougados’ work, it is all collected in a series of photos printed on aluminium for that beautiful light it can reflect. We’ll leave some of his work below so you can start your day right.
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