This record-breaking artist uses the beaches of Dubai as his canvas | CNN

This record-breaking artist uses the beaches of Dubai as his canvas

Nadia Leigh-Hewitson, CNN
3 minute read
Updated 4:39 AM EST, Tue January 17, 2023
Using only a rake, Dubai-based Filipino artist Nathaniel Alapide turns beaches into huge works of art.
Using only a rake, Dubai-based Filipino artist Nathaniel Alapide turns beaches into huge works of art.
Amr Alfiky/Reuters/Alamy Stock Photo
Alapide first began working with sand when he carved a giant tree as a tribute to his late grandmother on Umm Suqeim Beach, home to the wave-shaped structure of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
Alapide first began working with sand when he carved a giant tree as a tribute to his late grandmother on Umm Suqeim Beach, home to the wave-shaped structure of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
Jojo Villena
"I try to really imagine the rake as a brush," Alapide said. "When you move it at a certain angle it will give a different stroke, a thinner line."
"I try to really imagine the rake as a brush," Alapide said. "When you move it at a certain angle it will give a different stroke, a thinner line."
Chris Dabu
In January 2022, Alapide's drawing of the leaders of the United Arab Emirates was judged to be the world's largest sand image, at more than 23,000 square meters (250,000 square feet). The piece was commissioned by Abu Dhabi Sports Aviation Club and required 150 truck-loads of sand from across the Arabian desert.
In January 2022, Alapide's drawing of the leaders of the United Arab Emirates was judged to be the world's largest sand image, at more than 23,000 square meters (250,000 square feet). The piece was commissioned by Abu Dhabi Sports Aviation Club and required 150 truck-loads of sand from across the Arabian desert.
Nathaniel Alapide
Through history, people have used sand to make art. Pablo Picasso was known to have drafted concepts and designs in the sand. Like traditional sand artists, such as the mandala artists of Tibetan Buddhism, Alapide finds the ephemeral nature of sand drawing to be a meditative ritual.
Through history, people have used sand to make art. Pablo Picasso was known to have drafted concepts and designs in the sand. Like traditional sand artists, such as the mandala artists of Tibetan Buddhism, Alapide finds the ephemeral nature of sand drawing to be a meditative ritual.
Mox Santos
Alapide has been commissioned to create artworks for international brands such as Burberry and National Geographic.
Alapide has been commissioned to create artworks for international brands such as Burberry and National Geographic.
Chris Dabu
Pictured: A commission Alapide completed for Adidas during the 2022 World Cup, beside Stadium 974 in Qatar.
Pictured: A commission Alapide completed for Adidas during the 2022 World Cup, beside Stadium 974 in Qatar.
Adidas
"It's like a ritual for me now, like the morning prayer," Alapide said of his process.
"It's like a ritual for me now, like the morning prayer," Alapide said of his process.
SAN
Sand artist makes his mark on Dubai's beaches
CNN  — 

People have been making marks in the sand throughout history. For some, it’s a meditative practice. For most, it’s a way to sign your name on a vacation beach. For Dubai-based Filipino artist Nathaniel Alapide, it’s how he became a Guinness World Record holder.

Dubai’s 72 kilometers (45 miles) of sun-bleached coastline, and the vast Arabian desert, are his canvas. Using only a simple garden rake, each morning (after checking the weather, wind and tide reports) Alapide, 45, draws enormous calligraphic strokes across the beaches and deserts, rendering huge and complex designs that are soon erased by wind or waves.

“I try to really imagine the rake as a brush,” he said. “When you move it at a certain angle it will give a different stroke, a thinner line.”

The average drawing for Alapide is around 20 meters (66 feet) squared. “Sometimes I’ll do a work that will take an hour,” he said. “Or sometimes I work every day for hours to create.”

When he includes a written message, the pieces can be more than 100 meters long.

Alapide’s sand art began in 2014, when he sketched a tree in tribute to his late grandmother into an expanse of sand on Umm Suqeim Beach, in the shadow of the iconic wave-shaped Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

The scale of the drawing impressed the hotel, who offered him his first full-time job as a sand artist in 2015.

Alapide's tree, from 2014.
Alapide's tree, from 2014.
Jojo Villena

Since then, he has decorated the UAE’s sands with around 1,900 drawings. He’s been commissioned by big brands like Burberry and Adidas, and he created a work for National Geographic for the series “The UAE from above.”

The UAE government even used Alapide’s work to turn the beach into a public service announcement to notify the public of Covid restrictions, with a giant slogan reading “#STAY HOME” visible from the sky.

An ephemeral artform

In 2022, Alapide set a new record for the world’s largest sand image. The drawing, measuring more than 23,000 square meters (250,000 square feet), was commissioned by Abu Dhabi Aviation Club and showed the rulers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It took 30 days to create and required 12,000 tons of sand in four colors, sourced from across the UAE desert.

Though he has crafted a career from the practice, Alapide says creating an artwork from sand isn’t without its challenges.

“On the 20th day of creating the world-record piece, we were almost 70% done but then there was this weather that happened,” he said. “It was raining, and the wind was so strong, it erased almost the whole piece.”

“I think that’s why I find this kind of work interesting,” he continued. “Because it’s ephemeral, it’s fleeting. It’s like a ritual for me now, like the morning prayer. I work on something in the morning and by the evening it’s washed away by the tide”

Alapide says that the temporary nature of his work reminds him that everything is in constant change, particularly in a city like Dubai.

One of Alapide's dramatic creations, up against the shoreline.
One of Alapide's dramatic creations, up against the shoreline.
Chris Dabu

“When people see the sand art, they see both beauty and loss,” said Alapide. “Beauty in the work and then loss when it’s washed away.”

“I think making sand art is a great way to connect with people,” he added. “I like to watch how people interact with the work and I have found that the kids notice the drawings more than the adults. I think because they’re more aware of their environment. For adults, we can be blinded by our own lives and our busy days.”