Goldsworthy sees human beings as part of nature rather than separate or distant from it, something he understands could suggest his work has a spiritual or mystical purpose. The significance of this work, perhaps more of a study than a finished piece, lies in the artist's acceptance of nature as the co-author of the piece. I often think of it still being there, although I know it isn't intact. I revisited it several times and saw it sink into the sand and disappear. The line of stones physically affected the place and the people who walked along the beach. I had to move a lot of stones in one day, between the tides. In Goldsworthy's own words: This is a very physical piece. With the changing tides however, the line loses its shape and eventually vanishes. The orderliness of this manmade line contrasts with the more organic forms created by nature. Here he uses small rocks found onsite to create a straight line into the water. Although made while he was still a student, works such as this were pivotal in shaping his overall direction. Stones sinking in sand, Morecambe Bay is one of Goldsworthy earliest works. As he has said, 'People also leave presence in a place even when they are no longer there.'ġ976 Stones sinking in sand, Morecambe Bay, Lancashire He feels it is important to acknowledge a site's rich history and the various connections that people have in relationship with the land. Goldsworthy is interested in the social history of the land on which he is working and that includes its human population.Furthermore, he sees the fact that he uses temporal objects as a reflection of the ever-changing world we live in and the need to understand that nothing is eternal. In focusing on ephemerality, Goldsworthy rejects the idea of art as a commodity to be exhibited and sold. The passage of time and its eventual dissolution of materiality is central to Goldsworthy's work.'Learning and understanding through touch and making is a simple but deeply important reason for doing my work.' His enthusiasm and wonder express themselves through the making, as he remarked, 'each work is a discovery.' Goldsworthy is a very hands-on sculptor for whom a large point of the work resides in the process of making it.Stones, rocks, branches, twigs, leaves and ice are arranged carefully and patiently, making use of various repeated motifs such as snaking lines, spirals, circles and holes. Goldsworthy's work draws upon a Minimalist aesthetic that derives from seeing the poetic in the everyday.His approach not only makes nature the co-author of his work, but emphasizes that human beings are not separate from nature, but are rather an inexorable part of it. As a sculptor working with nature, Goldsworthy harnesses its limitations to gain a deeper understanding of it.

The natural world (and all its myriad forms) is the artist's primary material.

Famous ephemeral art