Victorian artist’s Taylor sand etching swiftly disappears

An anonymous artist has etched an image of Taylor Swift into the sand on Victoria’s southwest coast as the frenzy builds ahead of her Australian tour.

Taylor Swift fever has even swept on to Victoria’s sifting sands.

A 100-metre-long sand sculpture featuring the Karma singer and her cat was etched in sand on the coastline near Barwon Heads on the Bellarine Peninsula.

Hours later she washed away.

Created by an artist known as the “Banksy of Barwon Heads” – a play on the name of the anonymous UK street artist and activist – the piece was created with just a small rake, before the sun rose on Sunday morning.

A 100m sand sculpture of Taylor Swift and her cat on the Bellarine Peninsula coast line. Picture: James Anderson/Turbo360.au

“I draw in a caricature style, very large and in the dark, the events that happen around me here in Victoria.”

“There is a thread of connection, I drew Shane Warne when he passed, then his friend Ed Sheeran (which was a commission for his last album) and his friend Taylor Swift.”

“She is a regular person with pet cats, but wow, she is a superstar isn’t she? I was trying to find the person she is behind it all.”

“The drawing lasted about two hours, similarly she will be here a short time then disappear off into the world again.

Taylor Swift’s image seen from above. Picture: James Anderson/Turbo360.au

The art lasted on the beach for two hours before being washed away. Picture: James Anderson/Turbo360.au

The anonymous artist who only goes by the name “Edward”, or the Banksy of Barwon Heads, gained international attention during the severe bushfires in 2020.

A photograph of his 120-metre-long sand artwork showed an image of a koala clinging near Barwon Heads, south of Geelong, showed an image of a koala clinging to a tree branch with a sunset obscured by bushfire smoke.

An aerial shot of the sand creation. Picture: James Anderson/Turbo360.au

The sand artwork titled “Australia Burning” was seen by 110 million people online, touching the hearts of many people who felt helpless about the devastation to wildlife.

He has said his growing understanding of proprioception — a person’s perception of where your body is in space — helped him to gain a perspective of the area from above.

“I kind of visualise myself 200 metres above where I am, looking down, and I know over the years I’ve learnt how to do a wave, or a straight line without cords and ropes. I know what it feels like,”

The artist said two screenshots of Taylor Swift were used – one of Swift featuring on Time Magazine with her cat and one of her Australian Tour posters.

Swiftie fever is certainly gearing up, with her Eras tour to hit Melbourne later this week.