More than a Lifetime work in progress since Jan 2023
Links :
For All At Last Return Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art
Until 7th June 26.
Exhibition Review:
The Art Newspaper
This page features a selection of images from a project responding to the mass die off of crustacea on the North East Coast in 2021, reflecting on mortality, habitat restoration and the relationships we form to fragile and polluted ecosystems, at a time of climate crisis and species loss. The text references 4 key works which are currently on display at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art as part of the exhibition For All at Last Return.
More than a lifetime, digital video (2025) 23 mins.
This film documents the work of Tees Rivers Trust who are developing a series of habitat restoration projects working with volunteers from the local area. Through interviews with project workers and marine biologists the work reflects on the past, present and future of the river estuary and surrounding coast. The film highlights work which seeks to restore long lost natural habitats as a remedy to challenges posed by pollution and climate change, asking what it will take to repair our damaged ecosystems and the role this can play in visions of a more sustainable future. The title draws parallels between the time it could take for marine species to return and our own time on the planet.
Timeline (lifeline) 2025 mixed media, text, mirrors and collected objects,
Features a range of natural and man-made objects collected over an 18-month period whilst walking the North East Coast around the Tees estuary, organised by the length of time these creatures typically live for. This work developed in response to a mass die-off of marine species which affected the North East coast in 2021. Despite numerous scientific reports the cause has still not been identified and the ecosystem and related inshore fishing has still not yet fully recovered. The objects collected here are not from the die off, rather they are artifacts from my walking a reference to my attempts to understand how we can better connect with and protect the marine habitats on our doorsteps.
Designation (2025) – Floor based installation mixed media.
Map of the river Tees and surrounding coastline showing protected areas, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Marine Conservation Zones.
Interview with Dr Gary Caldwell, recorded in Exhibition Park, Newcastle May 2025. Edited extract (18 mins)
Marine Biologist, Gary Caldwell reflects on his work with the fishing community around Teesside in the wake of the mass mortality of crustaceans in 2021, discussing the role inshore fishing communities play in sustaining ecosystems, the impact of the die-off on the local fishing industry and new research into habitat restoration.