Artist XY unveils art in Folkestone and Coquelles to mark Eurotunnel 25th anniversary

Eurotunnel has marked its 25th anniversary with the unveiling of artwork on both sides of the Channel.

The cross-Channel operator employed Franco-British artist YZ - who used to live in Folkestone - to create the works.

On the entrance to the tunnel on the French side is a 50 metre by 17 metre fresco of a young girl looking through binoculars towards the UK.

Folkestone's Sunny Sands beach has new artwork to mark anniversary (13429161)
Folkestone's Sunny Sands beach has new artwork to mark anniversary (13429161)

And on Folkestone's Sunny Sands Beach her eyes adorn a wall looking out onto the beach.

The artist says inspiration came from her experiences in Folkestone and the memory of the excitement of seeing the French coastline from the beach.

She explained: "I really wanted to create a piece of work that unfolds in both the UK and France and which involved young people. We worked with two classes of 10-year-old pupils who wrote their own words on the entrance to the tunnel and who became, in a way, the spokespeople for this message of friendship and paying attention to each other."

The design on the French side of the entrance to the Channel Tunnel (13429163)
The design on the French side of the entrance to the Channel Tunnel (13429163)

Jacques Gounon, chairman and CEO of Getlink, the tunnel's parent company, said: "On the 25th anniversary of the Channel Tunnel, we wanted to remember that we, the UK and France, share a unique link, a geographical, historical, economic, cultural link that we keep going every day. This message has been magnificently created by the artist YZ with this little girl who has a little of her in France as well as in the UK, and who looks out permanently on both sides of the Channel.”

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