culture

Songs and dances are not only included in art performances which evoke emotions and optimism about life.

Sand picture also leaves deep impression on the audience as it vividly depicts the beautiful scenes of life with sand which is available everywhere.

According to Kang Un Ju, section chief of the office for sand picture of the Graphic Painting Production Unit under the Mansudae Art Studio, the creation of sand pictures started in the country in 2011.

She said that artists often need to practise more than one year to put sand pictures on the stage.

But at the time they successfully created Korean-style sand pictures in only two months with high creative enthusiasm and collective wisdom and put them on the stage.

The artists guide the audience to the mysterious world of art by producing new paintings in succession by freely applying the techniques of representation peculiar to sand picture, such as strewing, line-drawing, point-marking, erasing and pushing.

Sand picture grows more popular as audio-visual effects are produced by dint of music.

At present the vividness, truthfulness and artistic influence of sand picture are growing with the change of colours of the drawing board and the introduction of coloured sand.

People still remember the mysterious scene in which the candlelight in the hand of an artist looked as if it was burning at the centre of the sand picture in a performance.

It was said to be an effect produced by way of installing an image projecting device under the sand picture drawing board.

Like this, the artists have broken new ground of sand picture through constant creation and new innovations.

The reality of the country where the people’s dreams and ideals come true is the material for excellent artistic representation, they say.

Portrayed in the sand pictures are entities of dramatic transformations including the new modern streets and dwelling houses built in the capital city of Pyongyang every year, the rural villages turning into socialist fairylands in the new era of rural development and regional-industry factories springing up across the country according to the Regional Development 20×10 Policy.

The audience are delighted to see their happy looks and scenes of beautiful life in the attractive representation of sand pictures offering the vivid and lifelike artistic portrayals in succession as if they see the world of magic.

“Even though the techniques and means of representation of sand picture are unique and diverse, its influence is unthinkable apart from the dramatic changes and eye-opening developments of the times. We will create more masterpieces favoured by the people by steadily breaking new ground when we improve the artistic representation of sand picture in keeping with the developing times,” said Kang Un Ju.