Britain by the Sea
According to the Ordnance Survey, Coton in the Elms is the place that is furthest from the sea in Britain. 70 miles from the nearest coast, 45 miles from the nearest tidal water.
Access to our coast has become limited to those with their own vehicles, the public transport system in Britain has so eroded that access to most of the coastline is now impossible for those without a car.
As with most people I meet I have a hunger for the sea, to be near it, to hear the crash of the waves on a stormy day, to hear the susurration of waves on a pebble beach, to watch the gulls dip and wheel.
Britain has seemed defined by its relationship with the sea. Popular culture has seen many a television programme featuring our coastline and the sea, from Whaling Afloat and Ashore (1908) to The Blue Planet II (2017). Our heroes are seafarers; Sir Francis Drake, the sailors at Dunkirk, Captain Cook, they are often the mainstay of tubthumping nationalism and memories of Empire, but they are still there, deep in the nations psyche.
It is this passion and history I want to celebrate in this project, showing the coastline as I see it in various media; photography, video, prose, poetry, and others as they develop.
