North Atlantic Drift: Pursuing Whales is an exhibition that resulted from a residency at the Old Low Light Heritage Centre, north east of England. Various works were included in the show:
Lost and Found is a series of small cetacean sculptures made out of biodegradable plastic and black sand. The translucent material, encrusted with volcanic sand collected from Icelandic shores, gives a ghostly presence to the sculptures, each slightly different from the next.
Plastic found on the beach is placed alongside the sculptures. While the mention of marine litter stresses the negative aspect of our impact on the sea and its inhabitants, the biodegradable plastic used to make the sculptures suggests a more positive future, a future where using environmentally friendly materials is becoming increasingly viable.
White-Beaked Dolphin Bones is the record of the skeleton of a young individual which was found dead in Northern Iceland. The cause of death remains unknown. During the de-fleshing and cleaning process it became apparent that the bones were particularly delicate, and that bones such as the vertebrae were unfused, both typical traits to skeletons belonging to mammals of such young age. Each bone has been photographed against a black background.
They were then dispersed into the 31 drawers of the cabinet of curiosity. This display offers an alternative way to discover the skeleton of a cetacean, a contrast to traditional methods of skeleton display, allowing the viewer to consider sets of bones one at a time, highlighting their unusual shapes and fragility.
Surface is a video piece comprised of footage of seascape and whales from Northern Iceland layered on whale bones. Scientifically, marks, growth and lesions, can be studied on bones and tell us how the body was used. This ‘memory’ of the whale’s lifetime was explored through the bones’ textures. The number of humpback whales has increased in Northern Iceland over the last 10 years, as the warming waters have shifted their source of food further north. This raises questions about the uncertain future of the Icelandic humpback whale, a precarious state echoed by the fragile, lacy looking, weathered bones.
Other parts of the exhibition also include the video piece Whale Voice Choir I, research on the connections between North East England and whaling history from the London Natural History Museum, and a performance of Whale Voice Choir II / Hvalkór at the opening of the exhibition.
North Atlantic Drift is a series of exhibitions dealing with the relationship of the North Atlantic and its coastal communities set in the Old Low Light Heritage Centre.
This residency was funded by Arts Council England.