At first glance, it looks like a frozen orca that had washed up on the beach just ahead of a winter storm, but when you get up close, you realize it’s actually just the beach itself.
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A video that’s been trending recently pans across the orca, showing the gritty details of the life-size structure, including the black body, white belly, eye patch, fins, and tail flukes.
In the comments, there’s no shortage of people in disbelief. One person called the video “CGI” because there’s some pixelation at the beginning of the video. “Once again, (sic) internet proves everyone gullible af,” the commenter wrote.
However, it was a real sculpture. According to reports, it appeared alongside a series of other sand and snow sculptures, including a Mr. Potato Head and a family of snowmen, on Jericho Beach in Vancouver in January. At the time, no one knew who carved them but an artist named “Aaron” was outed on social media.
In an Instagram post, Dawn Myers, a basketmaker from British Columbia, Canada, promoted the single piece that really turned heads: a life-size snow sculpture of an orca whale. She said that her son “Aaron” was responsible and told the public to go see it before it melts.
But that’s where the trail goes cold — until you start to do some Googling. According to a 2017 article by the Vancouver Sun, an artist named Aaron Cambrin was documented sculpting orca whales on Jericho Beach.
The ones from 2017 are noticeably different than the ones from January. In the images, they appear to be surfacing. Cambrin explained to the newspaper his fascination with killer whales, saying, “I love orcas with a passion.”
Although 2017 was reportedly the first time he sculpted orcas out of sand in the wintertime, it does not appear to be his last.
