French artist creates huge sand images that are ultimately washed away by the elements

[Aug. 24, 2020: Joseph Shavit]

Tarain Jehan-Benjamin, is a French beach artist who creates huge sand images that are ultimately washed away by the elements. His beach art is so massive in scale that surrounding passersbys within the video and drone images only appear as specks in comparison.

Jehan-Benjamin works with two different rakes for the pieces which can take between one and four hours to create. The imprint of the rake on the wet sand is what creates the look of an outlined drawing. Sometimes he plans the image ahead of time or has one commissioned — but mostly he goes to the beach and lets his inspiration guide him.

Some of his better known works include a mandala yin yang, pirate ship and maze, each intricately carved into a sandy beach.

When Jehan-Benjamin is finished with a project he uses a drone to snap photos and videos, like the one entitled “Sideways” on YouTube and posted below.