Sandalism: The bizarre sculptures mysteriously popping up at builders' sites around London

By Daily Mail Reporter

Spooky: Five smiling pumpkin heads, one of the first pieces of street art Gaze did back in 2008 in Bourne Terrace, Paddington, near the Hammersmith Flyover


From the underground world of street art these incredible sculptures show latest craze - sandalism.

In the tone similar to infamous guerilla artists Banksy - half vandalism and half impressive creativity - photos show some of the bizarre and captivating urban sculptures popping up all over London - made entirely out of sand.

The artwork is the brainchild of maverick artist Zara Gaze. Working alone and under the cover of night in London, Zara crafts intricate pieces and retreats at dawn.

Her masterpieces surprise morning passers-by who only a few hours before saw only a builders site or sandpit.

The results are some truly spectacular pieces of art - from a giant human brain popping up in Paddington to a tree frog in Maida Vale.

The quirky sculptor left a fine art course at St Martin's College in London, frustrated with the rigid art scene and craving something more fun and accessible.

She said; 'I found the art world too stuffy and cut off from its audience. 'I've always been interested in street art because it is so instant for the viewer.

'After I left St Martin's I found myself walking round the streets of London just taking things out of skips and making them into sculptures'.

Working on the streets gave Zara the freedom she always craved and she has been in love with the genre she has been developing ever since.

The fact that her audience isn't a crowd of art lovers but surprised passers-by on the way to work is what gives her the thrill she loves in her work.


Chew on this: Chattering teeth on the Portobello Road in London, made from builders' sand where road works are being carried out


'I love the immediacy for the people walking by and seeing it,' she said. 'There are an awful lot of miserable commuters in London and it's nice to make them smile for a minute'.

When she first began her work Zara would find an inconspicuous spot nearby to watch people's startled reactions to the final results as they wandered past.

Ever since she has been making art on the streets with sand.

Her first project was on London's South Bank - the only place where natural sand can be found in the city.

She has raised even more eyebrows with her covert, urban artwork using piles of sand on builders' sites at the side of the road.

The sculptures can take anything from two to five hours to complete. Once satisfied Zara slinks off into the night, leaving behind a giant frog or chameleon or whatever has been her night's work.

'You only see a few people around at that time of night,' she said. 'It was a bit scary at first, being a girl out at night on my own.


Spring in your step: A passer by checks out a giant Monty Python-style foot in Westbourne Grove, London


'I used to wear a gorilla costume and keep a shovel handy. Who's going to mess with someone dressed as a gorilla with a spade?'

Now that she has put her gorilla costume days behind her, sandalism is going from strength to strength.

Her next project is an ambitious piece mingling art and science at the Glastonbury festival this week.

While it seems sad her work never lasts more than around three days before it crumbles back to grains of sand, for pioneering Zara the fleeting nature of her art is part of its magic.

'It doesn't belong to anyone,' she said. 'You have to appreciate it while it's there because it's not going to last'.


Artistic inspiration: A giant plug hole and plug, fashioned out of sand by artist Zara Gaze beside the Thames on the river's south bank


source: dailymail