Student’s fleeting leaf artwork captivates millions online

A temporary autumn-leaf arrangement created by a student at the Latvian Academy of Arts has drawn nearly eight million views online, LSM reports.

First-year environmental art student Pauls Dāgs Burāns made the composition in the academy’s courtyard. He said he simply drew circles around trees with a rake, then added more circles around them, without making a sketch.

The work was filmed by camera operator Anatolijs Prokopenko, who captured the moment by chance. Burāns called the online response “some kind of internet miracle” and said other artists had made similar works before him.

Burāns created the arrangement as part of a study assignment, inspired by the fleeting works of Dennis Oppenheim. The leaves were later blown away, but the artwork could be recreated in minutes. Burāns demonstrated the simple process and said people did not need him there to make their own versions.

He has seen others imitate the now-famous composition on social media and hopes it will spark more interest in environmental art. He said he may create another arrangement when bodies of water freeze.