Mawgan Porth: Constant change
At Mawgan Porth, a unique landscape intrigues, inspires, teaches, entertains in any measure. We hear from artist and architect about this compelling cove.
“Mawgan Porth is one of Cornwall’s most distinctive coastal settings. Nestled between dramatic headlands, its golden sands, wild cliffs, and sheltered valley form a rare and powerful composition of natural elements.”
Nathan Davis is director at Arco2, a Cornish architect practice based in Bodmin. Born in Cornwall, Nathan – and his fellow director Ian Armstrong – have worked on 14 projects at Mawgan Porth involving close study of the unique coastal landscape found here – having spent his childhood exploring its headlands and beach.
It’s a place commanding deep respect. “The constant movement of light and wind combines to create a landscape that’s a wonder of the natural world,” says Nathan.
“Locals know the landscape intuitively – how it shifts with the seasons, how it breathes.”
His work is informed by the constant change at Mawgan Porth. For example, he comments on the granite boulders placed along the dune edge in the 1980s that have ultimately shifted problems elsewhere. “In a dynamic system, native vegetation and gentle land management often offer the best long-term protection,” he says.
Wave tracker
Standing on the cliff top overlooking the breaking waves at Mawgan Porth, artist Gemma Lessinger controls her drone as it captures a bird’s eye view of the everchanging sea below. These images are the source of her studies in mixed media, bringing sculpted elements to painted seascapes.
Gemma rediscovered painting in 2020. “During the Covid-19 pandemic, when I was furloughed, I was incredibly bored and remembered I had some paints. I got them out and that led to where I am now. It relit a fire in me I had long forgotten. Once I started, I couldn’t stop,” she says.
Watch Gemma creating art inspired by the Mawgan Porth shoreline:
Play Video Bringing in influences from an art and design GNVQ course from her college days and career in the fashion industry, her style and practice evolved through rediscovery. “I was finding things I had in the house to use, and I painted the ocean because I was missing going to the beach. I tried to convey the movement of the waves in paint, gradually adding material to it so I could sculpt with it.”
“You think you know a beach like the back of your hand but when you look at it from above you see stuff you’ve never seen before.”
From memories and old cliff top photos, Gemma’s painting developed into site studies augmented by capturing image from the sky using a drone. “You think you know a beach like the back of your hand but when you look at it from above you see stuff you’ve never seen before,” she says.
Now her work captures changing rock formations and recreates how the waves break differently as conditions and the coastline shift. And this centres around Mawgan Porth along Cornwall’s north coast. “Anywhere from Perranporth to Polzeath is my favourite stretch. It’s so varied, from tiny coves to the Rock estuary that’s completely calm with amazing sandbanks. There’s so much inspiration; I could study this stretch of coast endlessly.”
Studying Mawgan Porth
Early records from 1334 give the area the name Porthglyvyan, Cornish for cove of the little wooded valley river. For Nathan this local ecology of dunes, hedgerows and wildlife corridors are fragile and interconnected.
His studies for projects in the area combine an understanding of the landscape character; locally-sourced materials – to connect buildings to their context; built in climate resilience; and listening to the local community. “Locals know the landscape intuitively – how it shifts with the seasons, how it breathes,” he explains.
At high tide, as the sun is coming up, Gemma begins her study of this living landscape.
“When I was first here, it was a very high tide; the way the waves break in the bay here is really quite specific. Then as the tide drops back you get the river appearing. Rock formations emerge on the left-hand side and a rock pool, as a small amount of beach forms. You get a constantly changing environment. For me to paint, it’s never ending.”
From taking in the valley and the ocean views from the cliff tops to experiencing how these waves break on the shore, could your beach be found in this everchanging landscape?
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