Remy and Paul, who sculpt stories from sand, draw inspiration from life in Bulgaria

published on 3/20/23 12:45 PM

Photo: Remy and Paul Hoggard

They met 20 years ago in a Belgian sand sculpture park. He was sculpting a 19-meter deity and she was creating a goddess from sand. They quickly found out they are soulmates and have been inseparable ever since. Remy and Paul Hoggard are among the hundreds of artists on the planet who are professionally engaged in sand sculpture. They receive invitations from all over the planet and to this date the art team has toured over 30 countries.

He is English and she is Dutch, but they choose to live in Bulgaria. They have a house and some land here. When they are not creating miracles out of sand, they take care of their farm in the village of Mihailovo near Stara Zagora.

They speak Bulgarian well and claim that this country is their home, the place where they always return to "recharge the batteries". Paul says that the Covid-pandemic and the isolation caused by the quarantine made them rethink their lifestyle.

Interview with Paul Hoggart

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The art couple, which have created thousands of sand sculptures all over the world and won the recognition of the Queen of England, draw inspiration from life in Bulgaria. Recently, on the occasion of 150 years after the death of Bulgaria's national hero Vasil Levski, the sculptors greeted the citizens of Burgas with a magnificent three-dimensional sand face of the Apostle of Freedom. The response was incredible - children and adults were all fascinated by the sand sculpture on the beach of Burgas and some were moved to tears.

Interview with Remy Hoggard

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Remy and Paul have a number of future projects in Bulgaria, which include a sand academy, where they will conduct workshops for children and adolescents.