EROSION

Belle Tout stands on the edge of the South Downs, set against the wide coastal landscape of East Sussex. It has not always stood here. In 1999, as erosion continued to eat into the cliffs, the lighthouse was moved seventeen metres inland, its 850-ton structure carefully shifted away from the edge. Even then, further movement was anticipated, the land continuing its slow retreat. The building appears fixed and resolute, yet everything around it speaks of uncertainty. I photographed the lighthouse as it stood in 2022, marking a temporary position within an ongoing change. The image becomes a record of that moment, one point along a longer passage shaped by land, sea, and time.