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Sand sculpting: Race Against the Tide's impermanent art form

In the world of sand sculpting, art is impermanent. These monumental structures are washed away by the sea. CBC Gem’s Race Against the Tide depicts the artists at work on this delicate art form.

In CBC Gem’s Race Against the Tide, contestants create epic sand sculptures before the seas wash them away.

CBC ·

Race Against The Tide: Meet the sand sculptors

2 years ago
Duration 1:13
Here are the contestants competing in Race Against the Tide Season 2.

As pieces of art, sand sculptures are highly complex. Beyond your typical beach creation, sand sculpting focuses on making lifelike versions of buildings, faces and really anything the artist wants to make. 

The premise is simple, but the art is very complicated. Each week, contestants build a staggering sand sculpture based on a theme. The catch? They have to have their structure built before the New Brunswick tides wash it away.

And the tides are brutal. The province's Bay of Fundy has the world's highest tides, and it's their destructive power that Race Against the Tides' contestants have to contend with. 

Sculptures washed away 

When we talk about art, we often think about paintings and statues that adorn galleries across the globe. 

But, when it comes to the world of sand sculpting, impermanence is the name of the game. 

Race Against The Tide: Watch a sand sculpture crumble

2 years ago
Duration 1:09
Watch sand sculptures from Race Against the Tide Season 2 crumble.

Artists create these complicated and artful structures while knowing that they can so often only be temporary. 

It says so much about the artists' unique perspective on their art — that they are willing to put in a high level of effort for something that will inevitably wash away.