Floating Desert Island: the beauty of illusion on Australian beaches

Forget giant sand castles or grainy versions of famous sculptures, when it comes to beach art Australians take it very seriously.

In fact, in the beaches between Sydney and Perth, artists from all over the world have shown their creative inspiration during "Sculpture By The Sea", the largest outdoor art exhibition in the world.

Between reproductions of marine animals, pans, havaianas, burgers, tubes of colors, watches and other installations, strictly enormous, the most interesting proposal of this year was made by the Danish architectural studio Gjøde & Partnere Arkitekter: a desert island.

The team built a 72-meter-long wall made of glass mirrors at Cottesloe Beach, glued to standard-sized plywood panels and supported by triangular wooden frames that divide a section of sand (an area of about 880 square meters) into a semicircle.

The curved wall faces the Indian Ocean, and the reflection of sand merging with the soft-blue waters and the horizon beyond creates an illusion of an enclosed space; a desert island floating in an endless sea.

Kids playing on the beach, couples walking on the sand, friends relaxing together, girls sunbathing, romantic sunsets all become part of the installation.

In fact, Johan Gjøde, creative director and founder of Gjøde & Partnere Arkitekter. describes the installation as both a framing of the landscape and a framework for social interaction:

"The idea behind the desert island is to add a spatial quality to the infinite horizon that stretches across the sea. By extending the horizon onto the beach we want to create a space that triggers the imagination ... ".

Beautiful and a little magical.

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