6. CROSS AND HAIL
Brian David Stevens introduces shots from a series of photographs he took, over a period of 12 months, at Beachy Head:
There are memorials at various points along the edge, placed by families for some of the many people who have taken their own lives here. The simplicity of the wooden crosses and their location make them heartbreakingly sad. They seem to be well-tended; many always seem to have fresh flowers.
A shaft of sunlight picked out this single cross, a little respite from the hail and rain that had been falling on and off that day.
The abrasion of the wind and the sea takes its toll of the chalk cliffs. They erode at a fierce rate so that ultimately these memorials, in a grim irony, will also find themselves on the beach at the foot of the cliff.
*
The whole Beachy Head series can be seen here. A Beachy Head book will be published later in the year by Another Place Press.