2015-16

Wembury & Woolacombe revealed views from the North and South Coasts of Devon simultaneously, live, and in real time.

Commissioned by the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter (RAMM) for the exhibition ‘Whatever the Weather’ (November 2015- April 2016). RAMM was keen to commission twin works, one each for the north and south coasts of Devon. Each was to be sited on or overlooking National Trust properties in order to complement the Trust’s 50th anniversary year of the ‘Neptune Campaign’, a fundraising campaign which helped protect the nation’s coastline.

The result was Wembury & Woolacombe, twin works which recorded the view from Wembury on the South Devon Coast and Woolacombe on the North Devon coast, constructing images in real time over an extended duration. For the duration of the exhibition the resulting images were transmitted to the gallery live, via the internet having been assembled pixel-by-pixel. The results were temporal representations of these evocative locations.

Each camera remained in situ for twelve months, until September 2016, recording the full cycle of the seasons, and the weather, from both locations across the whole year. Each complete image was constructed line by line from the top left of the image to the bottom right over a six and a half hour period, approximately the time it takes for the tide to go in or out. Images were saved at regular intervals, which accumulated to form an archive of the year from which a small number of prints are being editioned.
Eight small prints that were shown in the exhibition are now part of RAMM’s permanent collection.
In 2017 Imperial College Healthcare Trust acquired 15 prints for their collection. These are currently installed at Charing Cross Hospital, London.

Commissioned by the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, 2015. Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts and the Art Fund through the Art Fund prize for Museum of the Year 2012; with logistical support from the National Trust. The cameras are hosted courtesy of The Old Mill Café & Beach Shop, Wembury, South Devon, and the Beachcomber Café, Woolacombe, North Devon. Programming and network technology developed with Matthew Jarvis.

Images were shared on social media from the locations over the year
on twitter
instagram
and/or facebook

Here is a small selection from the archive