De Drie Wijsneuzen van De Panne

On the beach of De Panne, three monumental figures gaze silently over the horizon: De Drie Wijsneuzen - The Three Wise Noses. Created by Belgian artists Jos de Gruyter and Harald Thys for the 2018 Beaufort Triennial, this striking sculpture has become a coastal landmark.

Each of the three heads sits atop a tall, monolithic column, between 13 and 15 metres high. The faces are expressionless, almost anonymous, and identical - sculpted in polyester and fibreglass, then anchored deep in the coastal sand to withstand wind, salt and time. Together they look out in three directions: one towards France, another towards England and the third inland across Belgium.

Symbolically, these oversized figures reflect De Panne's role as a crossroads between countries and cultures, between land and sea. Their silence and stillness invite interpretation - guardians of the horizon, watchers of the tide, or silent witnesses of change.