Sea State

Gemma co-curated the inaugural exhibition at Wolterton with Simon Oldfield, Sea State, featuring new work by Maggi Hambling and Ro Robertson. Responding to humanity’s enduring, complex, and increasingly precarious relationship with the ocean, this is the first time that both artists will exhibit together and will focus on their shared longstanding, deeply personal connection to the coast. Presenting in the unique architectural setting of Wolterton both artists respond to the sea not only as a subject, but as a force – a place of emotional power, personal history, and poetic metaphor. Taking over the Marble Hall and Portrait Room Sea State is entirely site-specific and has involved both artists working closely with Wolterton to reenergise the historic house and grounds with new contemporary art.

Both artists are drawn to the sea’s changeable nature – at once unpredictable and overpowering, yet also a place of reflection and transformation. Their works speak to the erosion of coastlines and of the self, to time’s passing and identity’s shifting contours. The exhibition invites audiences to consider our intrinsic relationship to the sea, create space for reflection and reminds us not only of our relative insignificance within the vastness of the natural world, but also of our responsibility toward it.

Installation photography by Eva Herzog, courtesy the artists and Wolterton