Ukraine's Got Talent winner Kseniya Simonova's sand animation goes viral

Ukrainian sand artist Kseniya Simonova. (YouTube)

Kseniya Simonova won the inaugural Ukraine's Got Talent competition by demonstrating a rather curious skill: the 24-year-old artist is a sand animator who creates dynamic narratives by manipulating tiny grains of silicon into vivid tableaux. Simonova's victory happened back in April, but a video clip of her winning performance, which made judges and audience members weep, recently became a viral sensation.

Here's the popular clip, which currently boasts over 2.2 million views on YouTube. It's Simonova's interpretation of the Great Patriotic War -- the phrase used by Ukrainians to describe their fight against the Nazis during the Second World War.

The maudlin, epic music certainly contributes to the intense emotion of Simonova's performance, but her stark images also add up to a coherent storyline that packs a somewhat powerful punch. And I have to say, it's pretty impressive to witness the artist's confidence and dexterity as she swooshes her hands through a table of sand -- basically a rudimentary Etch-a-Sketch -- to produce recognizable pictures.

Some critics have questioned whether Simonova's success has less to do with her innate talent and more to do with the fact that she's a strikingly attractive young woman whose skills are something of a novelty; others are wringing their hands over the idea that her sand animation might constitute high art. For my money, it's more entertaining than the work of that dreary country singer who just won America's Got Talent, but not quite as impressive as the preternaturally mature stylings of Shaheen Jafargholi, the preteen whose soulful performances amazed judges on the British version of the show.

What do you think? Did Kseniya Simonova's moving pictures move you to tears?

--Sarah Liss