Sara Trillo
Step onto East Cliff and discover Urn Field by Sara Trillo, a group of chalk sculptures inspired by Folkestone’s ancient past.
These sculptures honour the people who lived here over 2,000 years ago, taking inspiration from the clay pots they used for burials. Each sculpture is shaped like a piece of these old pots, with forms that echo rims, handles and bases, connecting us to the people who once cared for this land.
Urn Field also celebrates the wild plants growing around the site, like blackberry, elder and wild carrot. Long ago, these plants were used for food, medicine and good luck charms. The sculptures reflect these plants in their shapes, patterns and colours. Handles twist like bramble stems, and jug rims are touched with the deep blue of sloe berries.
The tallest sculpture stands at almost the height of an adult, making the artwork feel human and alive. As you walk across East Cliff, you will find the sculptures one by one, scattered like quiet markers in the landscape, waiting for you to notice them.
Made from chalk cob, a mix of chalk, sand, stones and straw, these sculptures are linked to the cliffs and earth around them. Their soft white colour mirrors the cliffs, and over time, they will gently return to the land, becoming part of Folkestone once again.
Image by Thierry Bal
About the artist
Sara Trillo is a visual artist whose work unearths hidden histories embedded in the landscape. Through research, walking and making, she explores the traces of human presence within our shared ecological environments, with a particular focus on the Kent Downs, where she investigates dene holes: mysterious chalk shafts of unknown origin.
Her sculptural practice spans small tools to large-scale installations, often using natural materials such as reeds, wool and dug clay. Drawing on archaic craft techniques like flint-napping and plant dyeing, Trillo connects past and present through the act of making. Recent collaborations include chalk planting experiments with gardener Fiona Parry.
Trillo also leads public walks that weave together local mythologies, site-based narratives and performative storytelling, such as her 2024 Whitstable Biennale Archive commission Swept Away.
Born in Ramsgate, she is based in East Kent with a studio in Margate. She studied Fine Art at Norwich University of the Arts and was an Associate at Open School East in 2017. Her work has been shown across the UK and northern Europe, most recently in Chaleur Humaine, the 2023 Dunkerque Triennale Art & Industrie, alongside residencies in France, Germany, Cyprus and Turkey.