India

In India, a ten-year-old boy began making art from the only material he could afford: sand.

Sudarsan Pattnaik grew up in poverty on India’s east coast. At ten, he left school and began working to support his family. He wanted to make art but couldn’t afford the materials.

The beach had everything he needed. There, he taught himself to sculpt in sand, often starting as early as 4 a.m.

In 2014, he received one of India’s highest civilian honours. Three years later, he built the world’s tthen tallest sandcastle.

Today, he runs a sand sculpture school on the beach where it all began.