Sand Art: South African creatives get by on true grit

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02:40

In South Africa, two friends from the Hout Bay community near Cape Town are making a name for themselves with their art. The pair is from a poor fishing community on the country's coast, but they're not relying on the sea to put food on the table. Instead, they are using the sand. CGTN's Travers Andrews explains.

It's sculptures that have greeted tourists and locals everyday in Hout Bay, the sand art of two friends who certainly know the way around creating some telling beach art. These two have created sand sculptures on many South African beaches. They do it as a passion, a form of expression and also to put food on the table.

SIPHE SOMHALHLO SAND ARTIST "I started making art when we were still growing, we were still young. We were making cows with clay soil, not sand, but now we're here and no jobs, so we find a way for a better living, so we decided to start sand sculpturing."

Some of their work could take up to 3 hours a construct, depending on the way the tide is going. It's also powerful thought provoking messages strewn across their work, which often gets the attention.

They not short of talent or ideas, and look to the sea and land for sculptures to create and live off donations from the passers by, who pay for a snap or two.

SIYABONGA GOODMAN DUMA SAND ARTIST "There's nice mammals from the sea, the dolphin and the African animals, the big five and the seahorse. Sometimes I can do cars, if someone asks me to do the car for a company, I can do that. Just give me the picture and I can do it."

But like many artists in Hout Bay, opportunities for them outside of the fishing industry is far and few between, but that doesn't stop them from making their way to the beach when the weather permits.

TRAVERS ANDREWS CAPE TOWN "The two have transversed almost the entire length of South Africa's east coastline and are unanimous in the decision, that when it comes to beach art, Cape Town has the best sand."

"The sand is finer here and it's easy to work with because you don't have to fetch water in the sea to wet the sand."

"The sand here is fine and Durban's sand is rough. Here the sand is right because it can stick together easily."

Many here in Hout Bay have turned to the sea for work and the tourism sector for jobs. But these two are certainly a rarity, who have turned to their talent for own way, of getting by, Travers Andrews, CGTN, Cape Town."