Blue Minds, an artist-led collective comprising 26 world-leading contemporary creatives, frames the ocean as an endless source of inspiration and highlights why a healthy ocean matters. This fully immersive show offers soundscapes, photography, installations, paintings, wearable art brands, ceramics, films, sculptures, workshops, talks, interactive media and discussion rooms. Inspired by the tireless work of marine biologists and in association with the Blue Marine Foundation, Blue Minds exhibition makes explicit the mutuality artists share with scientists.
Both have a deep, constant observation of their subject; both are seeking to make us aware of problems like over-fishing and pollution, and both use creativity to find solutions and give us hope. Whilst science gives us the tools to understand the complexity behind the beauty of nature’s integrated systems – such as the ocean’s “hope spots” documented in the film Blue Mission – art enables us to express our feelings about the world and provides a point of connection for the viewer.
15% of proceeds from Blue Minds exhibition will go to the Blue Marine Foundation
ANDREA HAMILTON - LONDON BASED ARTIST
Andrea Hamilton is a multi award-winning UK-based conceptual artist and photographer best known for her extensive images of the ocean, natural phenomena and the Kelvin scale. Her work encompasses numerous photographic genres including portraiture, still life, long exposure and landscape. Her systematic collection of subjects within a strict conceptual framework (Chroma, Tidal Resonance and Luminous Icescapes) over extended time periods has resulted in comprehensive archives.
Hamilton’s work is held in numerous private and corporate collections, including The Vault 100, and has published numerous books, including London Everyday for the Mayor of London. Her most recent accolade was Gold at the Tokyo International Foto Awards, 2020. www.andreahamilton.com @andreahamilton @_thecolourproject
BLUE MINDS | TURNING TIDES
Scientists and artists alike, are constantly scrutinizing, recording, and researching the connectivity of life. Scientists give us the facts, but maybe art has the power to shift minds and turn the tide of inaction, to show how creative thinking in ocean conservation can give us hope for a sustainable future.
"Even if you never have the chance to see or touch the ocean, the ocean touches you with every breath you take, every drop of water you drink, every bit you consume. Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly dependent upon the existence of the sea.” Sylvia Earle, Blue Marine Foundation Ambassador
Blue Minds asks two central questions: why are we disconnected and how can artists help us to find creative solutions to ocean conservation?
“If we consider art like the ocean’s surface – a beautiful mirror to the world – then the creative process can be likened to what happens beneath the waves. It is there, in that hidden space of trial and error, observation and form creation, that we will find solutions for a sustainable future.” says curator, Nico.
The world’s oceans, lakes, rivers and wetlands are collectively known as blue space and cover 71% of our planet. Their health and biodiversity is critical to our physical and mental well-being. The role of the ocean in regulating the Earth’s climate is increasingly understood, as is the extent to which extracting life from the ocean is damaging its capacity to absorb CO2 and release oxygen. Restoring life in the ocean is vital to the future of the human race. That’s why overfishing is so iniquitous.
Above: Kairos - Josefina Nelimarkka
Blue Minds features a stellar line up of artists, co-curated by AH studios, Julia Campbell-Carter and Nico Earle including: Mariele Neudecker, Anne de Carbuccia, Andrea Hamilton, Marcus Lyon, Emma Critchley, Bridget Smith, Gregor Hildebrandt, Callum Innes, Phillip Hunt, Carola Dixon, Gideon Rubin, Anna Barriball, Emma Elliott, Kate Braine, Renelio Marin, Jordi Raga, Crystal Fischetti, Karolina Woolf and Dawit Abebe. Fresh from the successful Light Works show at AH Studio, they are joined by painter Aigana Gali, and fine wearable art by Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery, with Maya Sanbar creating an immersive experience for this show and Stories of Art who will be providing two lectures. What these artists share is a love for our blue spaces, and a commitment to documenting or responding to what is unseen or hidden from the public.
Above: Exodus VI by Marcus Lyon
BLUE MINDS Events, 127 Sloane Street
24 June: Opening
25 June, 11.30am: Curatorial conversation with artists Emma Critchley & Mariele Neudecker,
28 June, 11am: Stories of Art with Elisabetta Cipriani Wearable Art
29 June, 11am: Talk with Emma Elliot
29 June, 5pm: Blue Marine Foundation Event / Talk with Jasmine Harrison about her astonishing row across the Atlantic in support of the Blue Marine Foundation in February. Sponsored by Catherine Prevost and Chene Bleu
30 June: Stories of Art talk
1 July, 5pm-7pm: Ben Goldsmith CEO Menhaden can Co Founder of WHEB Group
2 July, 12noon: Talk with artist Marcus Lyon
5 July: Art Experiences Workshop
6 July: Art Experiences Workshop
With stunning organic wines from Chene Bleu, a family-owned winery, nestled in a truly exceptional site high up in the Dentelles de Montmirail in Provence, near Gigondas. Find out more here: Wine Provence |Chene Bleu
Blue Minds exhibition will run from the 24th of June to the 6th of June. We are following government advice on health and safety and asking that all visitors wear a face covering while at the gallery. Free admission into the gallery but booking is essential for the events program.
For more information and to book, visit the website: here
