Cornish Beaches – The Creative Art of Pollution (Part I)

Cornish Beaches – The Creative Art of Pollution (Part I)

A busy week of beaches, rubbish, & contemporary Eco-art. 

On Thursday, Robert my former Red Crossed referred befriender, & now good friend, took ‘Tik’ my dog & I down onto the Lizard,Cornwall.  I had spent two minutes that morning studying Google aerial maps seeking a suitable Cornish beach for us to explore & likely to be isolated enough not to have one of those ‘annoying Cornish dog beach bans’.

 

I wanted a quiet beach of potential flotsam & jetsam.

We headed through St. Keverene, into the pretty village of Rosenithen, down what appeared to be a dead end. Directed by a most helpful local to an off road parking spot where we would not obstruct any laden tractors coming through.  Tucked discretely, hidden almost out of sight, to the side of the dead end…a footpath, leading down to the sea.

Beach between two coastal quarries
Nr, Porthoustock, Cornwall

The beach we were heading for lies on the Lizard coast of Cornwall between Coverack & Porthoustock, in fact it lies between two rather large coastal former quarries. 

There is quite a bit of controversy surrounding potential re-opening of one of these quarries, Dean Quarry, & the impact it would have on protected marine environment just off the Cornish shore.

Dean Quarry, Between Coverack & Porthoustock,
Lizard, Cornwall

A pleasant walk beside a small highly conversational stream, which chattered & gurgled to us all the way down to the beach. The beach all but deserted…or so we thought.  A delightful & exceptionally clean beach.

 

Where was all the pollutant rubbish which I expected cast up on the tidal zone of such an isolated beach?

A conversation with a local resident of the village walking his ‘exceptionally’ seriously well trained dogs on the beach provided answer.  The locals kept their own local beach pretty damn squeaky clean.

Yes, they did, hats off, but it meant there was nothing to add to my sculptural bit’s resource box..and in a strange way, that's a good thing.

I whipped out from my rucksack a sculpture I had brought from home - a turtle.  

Made primarily from re-cycled old received ebay parcel packaging materials – one of my Kuriology faux taxidermy, paper mache – Turtles. I had wanted to photograph it in-situ on a beach.

Now hawksbill turtles do on occasion stray into Cornish coastal waters, so my beach sculpture was not entirely beyond the realms of reason.

Hawksbill Turtle -Faux Taxidermy
Paper mache sculpture by Kuriology

A real big bull seal also put in an appearance just a few yards off shore, & just shortly after Tik my dog had decided since I’ve had her to take her 1^st ever swim in the sea. 

Perhaps the bull seal had come to check who was the blonde bathing beauty – Tik my dog.

There was a steady stream of walkers coming to the beach following the coastal footpath.  It was such a beautiful early autumn day with blazing sunshine, we just sat on the beach enjoying it.

Return was via Roskilly’s (again) for good coffee.  Now I do not think it is compulsory to have a dog to go to Roskilly’s Farm, but let’s put it this way, more tables did have a dog in their company, than did not.

A most pleasant morning, even if I did have a damp soggy-doggy with us for the journey home

The following day a meeting lined up with Eco-artist - Georgina Maxwell.