A French sculptor has transformed the rocks on our local shores into intricate artwork to highlight the damaging effects of coastal erosion.
Ronan Charles, from Bordeaux, said he "fell in love" with Dorset after spending numerous holidays in Weymouth and Portland.
The sculptor subsequently decided to take his latest artistic venture to the sea defences on Chesil Beach at Chiswell, and carve a stone world map into one of the boulders.
After obtaining permission from Dorset Council, he began chipping away at the stone making the most of the sunny weather and calmer tides in August.
Mr Charles said the work is a symbol of how rising shore level threaten the world's shoreline communities.
He said: "With the rise of the sea levels and giant waves that will hit the coast, the carving of the world will gradually wear away over time.
"The same thing will happen to our coastal communities in real life. In one or two years, they will be unrecognisable."
Ronan Charles studied art at Sorbonne University in Paris. He used to live in Lot-et-Garonne in the south west of France before moving to the Bordeaux region in 2016.
Faced with few public commissions, he decided to leave his artistic studio and turn to the outdoors for inspiration.
He aims to give "a second life" to the natural elements, turning dead tree stumps and rocks into outdoor sculptures as a way of artistic "upcycling."
The city of Bordeaux subsequently agreed to support his work as part of its initiative to support projects by local residents. He also regularly gives seminars on contemporary art.
Mr Charles said he likes to use natural outdoor materials for his work to show how human-made art is more valuable than computer generated art.
He added: "In specialising in site-specific work. I want to create sculptures that robots and computers can never do.
"Technology and tools like AI will never be able to truly capture the natural world and art is a valuable form of expression.
"There is a certain freedom in making art with nature and without computers there are no limits to creativity."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel