The Wash Estuary is an exhibition at the Hub, Sleaford, Lincolnshire. It is part of a programme of exhibitions and events that GroundWork Gallery is presenting this autumn, all around and about The Wash Estuary.

Altogether, twenty seven artists in residence have been involved, alongside a whole range of different subject experts contributing to their insights and knowledge.

Cover Image: detail from Jacqui Jones: Flow

Showing work at Sleaford are: Michal Bernasiak, Katie Bliss, Jacqui Jones, Anna Harding, Sara Heywood, Carol Wilhide-Justin, Liz Kelleher, Nicholas Simpson, Louise-Frances Smith, Harriet Tarlo

How do we interpret the different cultures and ecosystems of the Wash?

What is emerging and continues to develop as our community of artists get to know the Wash better, is a remarkable series of interpretations These are being showcased through exhibitions, performances, writings, films, and sound works, all around this extraordinary subtle region.

The Wash Estuary is constantly changing and changeable,

The Wash full of fragile ecosystems and  interpenetrations between water, land and sky,

What we have seen and strive to represent often arises from its contrasts, fluctuating between the need for control and desire for freedom.  For a land which is largely below sea level, these range from imperatives to cultivate the land, limit access to it and control the flow of water, to the enjoyment of its wildness, rampant nature, free flowing water and the limitless flight of millions of birds. 

Our aim has been to try to understand aspects of the many different characteristics and cultures of the Wash. What you will see, hear and watch is much that is unexpected, but also resourceful. Artists have found novel ingredients, new uses for materials, original expressions and visions, and affecting and playful performances. It is just a beginning.

Veronica Sekules

Director Groundwork Gallery