Exploring the mysteries, myths and life that lurk beneath the waves, Undersea at Hastings Contemporary brings together paintings, prints, drawings and objects from across different cultures and artistic movements.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Really lovely
00:06this afternoon to speak to Lea Cross, who is the Director of Programming at Hastings
00:11Contemporary. And you've got a really exciting spring into summer coming up, haven't you,
00:16with the launch of Undersea on March 29th. Now, the sea defines Hastings, doesn't it,
00:23to an extent? Yeah, I think it does. It's part of the bones
00:28of the community, and it's something that we've come back to a few times with exhibitions.
00:35This follows the third instal in a trilogy of exhibitions in collaboration with James
00:40Russell, the previous ones being Seaside Modern and Seafaring. But this really delves beneath
00:48the waves, looking at the kind of creatures, both mythical and real, that exist there,
00:54thinking of the sea as much more of an international connector, rather than a
00:59gulf between places. But it doesn't divide, it brings together.
01:02No, it doesn't divide, it brings together. And it also sits alongside an intervention
01:07in our foreshore gallery, which is a collaboration with the Hastings Fishermen's Protection Society,
01:12looking at the intangible cultural heritage of the fleet, of oral histories in quite a
01:17in an artistic and, yeah, unexpected way. It sounds brilliant. And what is it saying
01:25about the sea? Because the sea is just so endlessly fascinating, isn't it?
01:30All of us can just stand there and stare at it for hours, can't we, given the time?
01:34Yeah. And I think it shows just how much that view of the sea is something that's quite
01:40international. I think it's something that when you experience it, everyone has quite
01:46a unique experience, whether it's something that's quite joyful and playful, or whether
01:52it's sort of your bread and butter and your industry that you work with. But it's something
01:58that's actually quite shared, and also yet still unknown. I think that that sort of draws,
02:04especially artists' fascination with the sea, and just continues that way, that continues to grow.
02:10And that international perspective you have here, as you say,
02:13centuries, five continents, it's ambitious, isn't it, this exhibition?
02:18It is ambitious, yeah, but we like to punch above our weight at Hastings Contemporary,
02:22and I don't see any reason why we can't have, why the people of Hastings can't have access to
02:28shows that they should have access to in any other major city. So it's, yeah, it's quite a
02:33broad span of works, which I think will really, really nicely juxtapose a very hyper-local
02:39programme in the Foreshore Gallery, and showing that it is, like I said, it's a great connector,
02:45and I think that's quite an interesting story to tell.
02:47It sounds absolutely fascinating. So Hastings Contemporary, opening on March 29th,
02:53and running until September 14th. Leah, really lovely to speak to you. Thank you.
02:58Thanks so much, Phil.