Noémie Goudal, Les Amants (Cascade) 2009, Courtesy of the Saatchi Gallery, London © Noémie Goudal, 2015
Watershed - Art, play and the politics of water
Watershed is a new exhibition, bringing together some 15 contemporary artists including Gavin Turk, Tania Kovats, Tatsuo Miyajima and Martin Parr who look at water in playful, conceptual, political and meditative ways. The exhibition runs at Hall Place & Gardens, Bexley, from 28 March until 6 September 2015.
Through photography, sculpture, video and installations, the exhibition celebrates the precious resource of water. The playful and restful nature of water is seen in Korean artist Chang Kyum Kim’s meditative sculptural video projection, capturing the changing seasons in a projected pond; Massimo Vitali’s monumental landscape photograph (above) shows the pleasure of being around water in nature. In Noémie Goudal’s large scale photograph Cascade (waterfall), a plastic sheet replaces the pouring water; Tania Kovats’ glass and water sculpture Where Seas Meet is made with sea water from three places around the world where seas visibly meet; in David Buckland’s photographs of Ice Texts, words of warning are projected on to icebergs; Susan Derges captures the continuous movement of water by immersing photographic paper directly onto rivers or shorelines; and Martin Parr candidly documents the English at the seaside.
Laura Ellen Bacon will become the first artist in residence at Hall place, working on site during August. In collaboration with WWF-UK. Bacon will be creating a new work to raise awareness about sustaining chalk stream rivers such as the Cray which runs through Hall Place.
Exhibiting artists include: Laura Ellen Bacon, David Buckland, Susan Derges, Noémie Goudal, Chang Kyum Kim, Tania Kovats, Susie MacMurray, Tatsuo Miyajima, Martin Parr, Robert Polidori, Amy Stephens, Studio Roso, Gavin Turk, Massimo Vitali and Simon Warner.
Watershed is curated by Artwise: Susie Allen, Laura Culpan, and Dea Vanagan. For more information visit: www.artwisecurators.com
A stunning Tudor house with magnificent gardens.Bexley Heritage Trust is a registered charity which runs Hall Place. www.bexleyheritagetrust.org.uk @BexleyHeritage #watershedbexley www.hallplace.org.uk
Opening times: Daily from 10am to 5pm, last admission is 30 minutes before closing. Admission: Adults £8, under 16s/ concessions £6, family £24 (2 adults and up to 3 children). Gift Aided tickets are valid for unlimited repeat visits within a 12 month period. National Trust members receive half price admission (not valid for groups). Admission is free with a National Art Pass.
