A Phenomena – Ukrainian Sand Artist {Updated}

“the song in the beginning is called jeux d’Eau. it’s part of the Cirque de Soleil “O” sound track. The whole soundtrack is amazing!”

Kseniya Simonova is a Ukrainian artist who creates sand drawings in front of audiences. Here she is performing on Ukraine’s Got Talent:

Here, she recounts Germany conquering Ukraine in the second world war. She brings calm, then conflict. A couple on a bench become a woman’s face; a peaceful walkway becomes a conflagration; a weeping widow morphs into an obelisk for an unknown soldier. Simonova looks like some vengeful Old Testament deity as she destroys then recreates her scenes – with deft strokes, sprinkles and sweeps she keeps the narrative going. She moves the judges to tears as she subtitles the final scene “you are always near”.

YouTube video

Ksenia has an affinity for sand and the beach at her hometown of Evpatoria in the Crimea provides inspiration.

What’s almost unbelievable is that Ksenia has been animating sand for less than a year. She took it up after becoming a victim of the credit crunch.

“The crisis took everything from us. We had a very successful business and in one moment it just collapsed. Many people got crazy, but we didn’t because we did this. Thank to the crisis we started doing this,” Ksenia says.

She is one of just a handful of sand artists around the world – certainly the youngest one – and also one of the busiest.

“In the daytime I’m a mother, I have a son. And I don’t have time to do this. I do this from 11pm till 4am, for about five hours. I sleep for three or four hours a day. It’s not really good for the health, but it is a normal thing because I’m primarily a mother,” Ksenia explains.