Hastings show: the mysteries, myths and life beneath the waves

SussexWorld

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.

Transcript

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.

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