Simon Beck sees an empty canvas when he stares out onto a field in the dead of winter.
The bush lies at his feet. His medium is snow, sometimes sand.
The outdoor enthusiast and cartographer produce amazing large-scale geometric designs when these factors come together.
In order to create complicated designs and 3D effects that can only be completely appreciated from above, Beck utilizes his feet inside snowshoes, a ski pole, and other instruments like ropes and anchors to draw lines, circles, and triangles into the snow or sand over enormous areas of ground.
They resemble crop circles and have the transience of mandalas. If Mother Nature decides it’s so, several hours of work spread across several days can all be changed or completely erased in an instance.
Beck initially sketches out his idea on paper, a process that can take all day.
On paper, he treats each millimeter as equivalent to one footstep.
Then Beck travels to other places, such as deserted mountain ranges or snow-covered sports fields, throughout the world to produce his magnificent works of art.
Beck claims that he just happened to be this kind of brilliance.
“It happened mostly by accident. I drew a few things for amusement, but since I didn’t have a digital camera or internet connection, it took me a while to understand that no one else was doing anything comparable and that it had seemingly never been done before. In 2009, I decided to take it seriously, make it my main winter activity (replacing my competitive orienteering training), and choose snow drawing over skiing when the weather was good.
Beck claims that his training as a cartographer enabled him to master the usage of a magnetic compass and the ability of measuring distance by counting steps.
He also grew accustomed to walking for extended periods of time.
Beck claims that when he makes a mistake, he just alters and refines his design. He occasionally makes political statements through his art as well.
One of those pieces is the Sierpinsky triangle that he and his companions created in Brean Down, an island off the coast of Somerset, England.
Beck wrote on Facebook that there were 81 little triangles that needed to be darkened. “We shaded four of them, leaving 77 that were partially shaded, reflecting the 77 countries globally where LGBT people are persecuted,” Beck said.
Beck claims that, contrary to popular belief, he does not find the transience of his work to be a source of philosophical or spiritual discomfort.
Naturally, the transience makes it impossible for a photographer to visit, shoot images, and then sell them. As a result, customers must come to me in order to purchase their photos. If one really took it seriously, they would trash the drawing once they had their own pictures. I wouldn’t do it, but I might think about it if someone tried to steal my work by using his own images and profiting from my efforts,” he says.
These photographs don’t always turn out well.
Sometimes the clouds might be an obstruction.
“Getting the images is important, and clouds are frequently to blame when this doesn’t happen. The shadow in the footprints is what makes the drawings effective. Therefore, a lack of sun equals no result or a bad outcome, and the artwork would probably need to be redone at some point,” adds Beck.
In the video below, you can learn more about Simon Beck’s work and watch him in action.
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