Lowestoft First Light Festival giant head installed

Artist Laurence Edwards created the sculpture of a head that will emerge from the sea at Lowestoft

A giant bronze head is set to emerge from the sea as part of a beach festival on the Suffolk coast.

The First Light Festival in Lowestoft takes place from midday on Saturday to midday on Sunday.

The 1.8m (6ft) head, embedded in the sand, will become visible at low tide and will be submerged under the waves when the water is high.

Sculptor Laurence Edwards said it would become "almost a barometer of the tide... and part of nature".

Known as the "Chthonic Head', it weighs about 750kg (1,650 lbs) and is expected to remain on the beach for about a month.

The head has been installed on the beach ahead of this weekend's festival

Heavy equipment lifted the giant head to its resting place on the beach

Seeing it installed ahead of the festival was "very, very exciting", its creator, Mr Edwards, said.

"The sea is sparkling, and I really tried to colour it with the kind of colour of the cliffs and the sands here - and I love that contrast of the blue and the yellow - and I think I've got it.

"I'm really excited about seeing this glistening blue behind this brown, scarred figure."

Mr Edwards is also the creator of the "Yoxman" sculpture just off the A12 to the south of Lowestoft in Yoxford:

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He added: "I've always tried to put sculpture in dynamic landscapes... places where it's going to move and shift.

"This is going to be almost a barometer of the tide, the weather - even the moon - the way it controls the ocean, it's going to be now a part of nature in a sense."

Genevieve Christie, chief executive of the festival, said she expected the head to be a "huge hit"

Head of the multi-arts festival on the town's South Beach, Genevieve Christie, described the sculpture as "absolutely stunning".

"I think people are already drawn to it like a magnet, it's kind of risen up out of the sand, almost out of nowhere and looks mysterious and mesmerising, so I think it's going to be a huge hit," she said.

The First Light Festival is held on the weekend closest to the summer solstice, as Lowestoft is the country's most easterly point.

The First Light Festival started in 2019 and attracted 30,000 people over 24 hours

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