
Mutant seabirds, sewer secrets and a lick of art ice-cream: Folkestone Triennial review
There's nothing like an exhibit on the scale of Britain's water pollution to kick off a day at the seaside. It's cloudy when I visit, the cliffs and sea swathed in white mist and the water under the Arm looking like a detergent soup. It all adds to the uncanny mood. And art doesn't come much more uncanny than the sculpture by Dorothy Cross near the far end of the Arm. You have to go down soaking wet, concrete steps to a recess with a precipitous opening to the evil-looking sea. 'Try not to fall in,' says the attendant, who stays up above. Here you find a massive block of blood-coloured marble, as if a giant tuna steak had been stashed here by fish smugglers. The sides are smooth, the top uneven and rough. Out of this earthy hulk Cross has carved several pairs of feet in hyperrealistic detail, nervously walking its beach-like surface. They face out to sea, as if about to make a bold leap into the blue-green water, to find a better life.
Cross has made a monument to migrants. The marble she has used is from Syria, the feet pattering over it full of fear and hope. These lifelike appendages and the surface on which they stand echo Magritte's surrealist 1934 painting The Red Model, of disembodied feet on red ground, while her use of massive, raw stone to suggest infinite sorrow - the weight of the world - shows she understands Michelangelo. This is a superb sculpture, brilliantly sited. It would be worth visiting Folkestone just to see it.
But there's more – if you fancy a walk. Up above the cliffs, on steep green downs guarded by Martello towers built to fend off invasion during the Napoleonic wars, are a string of thoughtful, often witty artworks. A monolith that looks as if it were made from glue and plastic stands alone on a mowed hill, facing the sea. Approaching, you read the words 'Curse dissolved'. That's heartening. The brochure describes this piece by South African artist Dineo Seshee Raisibe Bopape as 'meditative' but it made me laugh. What is the curse? Who lifted it?
I chew on this as I climb to a white circular tower inside which Katie Paterson also plays with magic. Paterson shows, on curving display tables inside the round room where red-coated soldiers once lived, a collection of mystic charms from different times and places. There are images of ancient Egyptian gods, Buddhist amulets and a tiny figure of the Mesopotamian demon Pazuzu who features in The Exorcist.
Each replica is cast in materials that bear witness to planetary crisis, including space debris from satellites and plastic from the Mariana trench. Paterson has a track record of working with scientists to get her hands on such exotic materials. Her installation is a more refined version of the Ministry of Sewers, a sly way to show us that we are turning everything to crap. These amulets are bluntly satirical. They seem to mock the magical thinking of those who would wish away the Earth's crisis.
If you head on to the next Martello tower you might be momentarily cheered up by Jennifer Tee's wavy picture of a giant kelp, mapped in the grass in brown bricks which also have sea kelp and other life forms imprinted on their surfaces. It makes you look out to the sea below and imagine the threatened life it holds.
There are jollities to be found in this seaside art trail – for the kids, Monster Chetwynd has started building an adventure playground, and down in the harbour you can get Emeka Ogboh's 'artist designed ice-cream'. But then I find huge burial urns littered in the high moorland overlooking the misty Channel. Sara Trillo has modelled these deathly objects on bronze age grave goods. They return you to melancholy: the view from here is as bleak as it is beautiful.
Folkestone Triennial opens on 19 July
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
6 minutes ago
- BBC News
Northumberland goats GPS tracker scheme to be expanded
A scheme tracking goats via GPS technology is expanding as part of efforts to prevent overgrazing.A herd of 13 goats spending the summer at the Druridge Bay reserve in Northumberland will wear collars with GPS trackers that can alert them to stop at certain Wildlife Trust said the collars help protect sensitive areas such as ground-nesting bird sites and ensure the goats are in the right area when they need to be scheme, which has been trialled on cattle and goats for the last two years, is expanding to West Chevington where a free roaming herd of cattle will be introduced later this summer. Staff can draw invisible GPS boundaries around grazing areas to control access and prevent overgrazing."The GPS collars allow staff and volunteers to monitor their movements from a distance, thereby allowing them to continue with the important job of grazing the reserve for the benefit of the flowers and grasses," said Alex Lister from the charity. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.


BBC News
6 minutes ago
- BBC News
Ulverston's charity-owned park awarded green flag
A charity-run park has been awarded a green flag in recognition of its Park in Ulverston, Cumbria, was handed the award by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, which recognises high-quality green spaces."Ford Park is a vital green space for communities in Ulverston to enjoy nature and during the ongoing cost of living crisis it is a free and safe space for families to socialise," said Paul Todd, the awards scheme park's management said they were "thrilled" with the award, which recognised the hard work of volunteers. "We're incredibly proud to be recognised for the care and commitment that goes into maintaining our eight-acre community greenspace," a spokesman park has a kitchen garden, an orchard, trails and an adventure play is situated just below the Sir John Barrow Monument on Hoad Hill, which has been portrayed by celebrated artist LS Lowry. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.


The Sun
36 minutes ago
- The Sun
Man dies trying to cross Channel from France after ‘cardiac arrest on boat' as migrants seen arriving in Dover
A MAN has died while trying to cross the English Channel to the UK. He suffered a cardiac arrest while on board a boat that was heading for British shores. 3 3 The boat had turned back towards Equihen beach in northern France on Saturday morning. French authorities confirmed that a man was in cardiac arrest when the boat docked on the beach. Emergency services rushed to the scene but were unable to save the man, who sadly died soon after. According to UK Home Office provisional statistics, almost 24,000 people have arrived on small boats in the UK in 2025. An investigation is underway, and will need to determine the circumstances that led to the man's death. Earlier today, an unrelated boat of suspected migrants was seen arriving in Dover. They were seen being brought to shore by an RNLI lifeboat. The institution has saved dozens of migrants that have faced difficulty in the waters. Migrants can then be brought to shore for medical attention. 3