New York-based Cuban artist Liset Castillo challenges the typical notions of beauty with very temporary sand sculptures. Mouth of Sand is just one of the many pieces from this body of work entitled Human Studies. In her labor-intensive process, Castillo creates life-size sand forms that resemble models found in high-gloss magazines. She photographs each one to document the creation and then destroys them in what she calls “a commentary on the ephemeral nature of beauty, America's obsession with youth culture and decay.”
The fragile nature of her sculptures reflects the fragility of the human body and the process of aging. Just as youth and beauty do not last forever, neither does the artist's work. Castillo certainly makes a statement with the purposeful destruction of each perfect figure and she believes that, even after they are gone, her work lingers around us. She says, “These enigmatic beauties may be ephemeral yet they will always remain a haunting presence in the landscape, quietly reminding us to cautiously tread the corridors of vanity.”
