When things collapse Damon Langlois rebuilds.

The seasoned artist from View Royal embraces the unpredictable world of sand sculpting, where each masterpiece is vulnerable to the whims of weather and nature.

His latest endeavour documents the resilience and creativity required to overcome massive destruction.

Rebuilding is sa国际传媒渏ust something thatsa国际传媒檚 in the DNA of a sand sculptor,sa国际传媒� he said.

sa国际传媒淲hat makes a sand sculptor is really the ability to stare down risk and abject failure and embarrassment. Anybody who has had something go wrong and it affects them they quit.sa国际传媒�

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Langlois is a five-time world champion in sand sculpting, designer of the tallest sandcastle with the Sand Sculpture Company in 2015, creator of Liberty Crumbling, the most shared sand sculpture on the internet, and has won the Canadian Open in Parksville multiple times.

No destruction stands out more in his storied career than when he was artistic director for a monumental immersive sculpture project in the heart of Kuwait City.

A decade ago, 72 professional sand sculptors set out to carve 30,000 tonnes of sand into a small town. Halfway through the project, a rainstorm hit.

sa国际传媒淚t never rains in Kuwait, itsa国际传媒檚 the desert and we get taken out by a three-day storm,sa国际传媒� Langlois said. sa国际传媒淲e knew this going in, it is just sand and water.sa国际传媒�

After the rains, the team did what came naturally, working more than 20,000 hours to complete the project. Although they lost the top four feet of the walk-through sand palace, it was still an impressive 52 feet when they finished.

As the 10th anniversary approached, Langlois revisited and refined the booklet concept.

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sa国际传媒淚t was a compulsion because here wesa国际传媒檇 made this masterpiece in the desert sa国际传媒� the best sand sculptors in the world and wesa国际传媒檇 made this immersive sculpture park,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淥nly a handful of people only ever saw that or experienced that.sa国际传媒�

As part of the planning, hesa国际传媒檇 created 32 short stories based on original tales for each sculptor to work from and be inspired by.

sa国际传媒淚t was always sort of in my mind as a book,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淲hen you look at sand sculptures, most people only briefly look at them, go, sa国际传媒榦h, thatsa国际传媒檚 amazing,sa国际传媒� take a photograph, and move on.sa国际传媒�

In this project, his simplified versions of the tales would accompany the sculptorssa国际传媒� works sa国际传媒� sort of like a program. Over the last decade, hesa国际传媒檚 fine-tuned the volume to 300 pictures and 32 shorter versions of the stories from the Arabian Nights, crafting a 276-page art and story book.

As a first step, he launched an online funding platform for Stories in Sandsa国际传媒擳he Arabian Nights, which hit its investor goal well ahead of the deadline.

sa国际传媒淭he next step from that is the key. I want a publisher to pick it up,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚t needs to get out there.sa国际传媒漴e.sa国际传媒�

Visit for more about the book.

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