Despite its granular size, river sand is integral to creating the world around us. Its chemical composition and geometry make it ideal for structural concrete, rendering it a desirable material commodity. The very processes that make river sand so particularly desirable to the global sand trade are also what complicate the efforts to monitor its distribution and regulate the illegal activities that surround the trade itself.
 The scale and gravity of the issue are difficult to document and comprehend—even river currents tamper with the evidence left behind by illegal mining operations. Invisible Sands examines the dynamic landscapes of extraction that render the material displacement of sand invisible. Obscured by international shipping routes, complex legal frameworks, and seasonal dredging activity, its journey through space and time reveals the transient nature of sand.