In Uruguay, at the far east point where the 200 km wide Rio de la Plata River merges with the Atlantic Ocean. This melange of waters creates islands, sandbars, shipwrecks, sand dunes and vistas. The land’s end has created a location for settlement.  A home to settle the disputes between the Spanish and the Portuguese in a new world.  The imperialists brought churches and slaves.

At the end of the road, a house, a church, another vista.  The creation of the settlement at Punta Del Este is both a tribute to geography and the history of two wars.  The “Hand” sculpture created by Chilean artist Mario Irarrazabal in 1982 occupies a water’s edge location.  The sculpture is also known as “the Fingers” and in a moment of gardening attention Margaret reaches under the fingernails to check for cleanliness.

“The finger is pointless and the sentence is speechless” says the writer’s line.  The sculpture pushes the same idea from beneath the sand.  In some ways it is like a child buried alive looking for help.  Can the dunes be restored?  Can vegetation on the dunes help separate the land from the water? Created for the first meeting of international Sculptors this work stands at the edge of land and sea filtering shifting sand.

The vistas of sand bars housing palm fronds and tidal pools hints at the undulating bridge that connects two sides of the waterway.  The rollercoaster ride over the bridge is reminiscent of the older wooden coasters in “”Playlands” across the Americas.  The momentary rush in the bladder and then the eye opening delight of the thrill.

The remnants of ramparts along the beach frame the sand.  The bridge rolls with the tidal waves.  The fingers reach for solid ground.  In our sand box, every grain matters.