Sea / Change

About

Sea Change is a study of contemporary people in Britain’s eroded coastal towns.

Once celebrated, feted and adored, Britain’s coast is struggling to find a role in people’s hearts in the age of bargain-basement cheap-flights and package holidays. In the place of lustrous vibrancy is desolation, decline and dereliction, where the fate of the seaside town has seemingly been sealed.

With social deprivation and cuts cutting deeper into coastal communities, places like Folkestone are fighting to evolve, re-evaluate and find new purpose.

And it’s the age-old conundrum of gentrification that splits the community. The old vs. the new. The greater good, vs. the individual. The respect for roots vs. profit and greed. 

Which poses the question, what does Folkestone’s future look like? Is it here right now? Will it ever arrive? 

This ongoing projects attempts to document the people of Folkestone through the eyes of its future, and it’s past, unpicking nuances that both contradict and complement.

As a gateway to the European Union, Folkestone is a melting post of cultural and political relevance. A mass of contradictions, unity and opinion, Folkestone is a small town where roles are no longer defined, creating a zenith moment for its inhabitants who are free to live as their parents did, or to set their own path.