Feature: Sand sculpture captures key moment in British history

World renowned artists Paul and Remy Hoggard were Thursday putting the finishing touches to one of their largest and most complicated works, a huge sand sculpture celebrating the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.

The work goes on show to the public at Lincoln Castle from Friday as part of the city's own events to mark the anniversary.

British-born Paul Hoggard agreed to give Xinhua a sneak preview of the 4-meter-high, and-9 meter-long sand sculpture.

The husband and wife team and their helps have spent weeks creating the work, with a team of assistants, knowing that over the coming week it will be view by tens of thousands of visitors to the historic city.

Lincoln Castle is home to just one of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta, a copy so rare that during World War Two it was transported for safe-keeping to the most secure bank vault in the world, Fort Knox in the US.

Yorkshire-born Hoggard and his Dutch wife Remy have 30 years experience in sand sculpture and have toured the world, from China to the Americas, creating stunning sand sculptures.

Paul Hoggard told Xinhua: "We produce sand sculptures and other sand art forms for exhibitions, installations and performance for a variety of different companies and organizations around the world.

"Our work goes from individual pieces to whole concept sand sculpture themed parks. We see our sand sculpting also as a performance art, drawing crowds, with many people returning to check on the progress of the sculpture. We like to engage with all who are interested to learn more about the processes involved and are happy to share our knowledge with everyone.

"Our Magna Carta is one of our most adventurous in terms of size and scale. We have used 80 tonnes of sand on the sculpture on what is a highly detailed work, taking us over 14 days to finish. Our sculptures have the ability to be weather proofed so they can last for weeks outdoors or months indoors.

"Sand and water are the most important ingredients when making sand sculptures and with good quality sand we can create almost anything. I always source the best locally available sand."

The sand sculpture features King John at the signing ceremony of Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215. The 'Great Charter' was a peace treaty between the English king and the barons who were in revolt against him and it set out the principles of freedom under the law, including a clause that even the monarch was not above the law.

Lincoln Castle is home to one of the four surviving copies of Magna Carta. The city holds events to celebrate its own key role it played in British history.

The festival starts Friday and runs to September at venues across Lincoln, featuring a program of events such as comedy, poetry, street theatre, lectures and debate. The star of the festival, and the biggest crowd puller though is expected to be the remarkable work of sand artists Paul and Remy Hoggard. Endit