Explore a mysterious aquatic world in Hastings
- timeless travels
- Apr 6
- 5 min read
By Theresa Thompson, Timeless Travels' Art Correspondent
Tom Anholt, Deep Dive, 2022. Courtesy Josh Lilley, London. Copyright Tom Anholt and Josh Lilley. Photo credit: Gunter Lepkowski |
I did it even today. I stood looking out at the view from the balcony at Hastings Contemporary and saw the vast flat grey sea, the grey sky and restless clouds, gulls circling, and fishing boats lining the foreshore. But did I wonder what lay beneath that flat watery surface? Did I imagine its life, its unseen mysteries, stories and myths? No…
That’s where Undersea comes in. The latest exhibition at this beachfront gallery of modern and contemporary art in East Sussex, took me on a voyage through four centuries and many cultures - as well as many sweeps of imagination – to explore that mysterious aquatic world.
Curated by renowned art historian James Russell, Undersea completes a trilogy of exhibitions about life above and below the waves. It is an exhibition, says the gallery, that invites visitors of all ages to dive into an underwater world and explore its depths.
And we do dive. Metaphorically. Visually. With a gloriously juxtaposed 75 artworks. In the first room, we see Jonah frantically swimming away from the whale, its mouth agape (a 1967 linocut by Arpad Illes); caricaturist George Cruickshank’s tiny 1832 etching Fish in human situations, awash with absurdist cameos of sword fish duelling and the like; and alongside those, a marvellous old sheet from Greenland (1705) illustrating the marine life and whaling industry of those waters three centuries ago.
Crabs, lobsters, and fish in various guises pop up throughout the exhibition, from Edward Bawden’s An Old Crab and a Young (c. 1956), to Charles Collins somewhat reverential painting of a Lobster on a Delft Dish (1738), to Austrian Expressionist Oscar Kokoschka’s electrifying watercolour of A Lobster (1946).
Charting depictions of the sea through the ages, in the first gallery of Undersea is one of the oldest, and perhaps oddest works on show: A crocodile, a gigantic fish and an animal that eats flying fish (1750) by an unknown maker. While its title explicitly names what is shown, its full meaning remains a mystery to this day.
Unknown maker, A crocodile, a gigantic fish and an animal that eats flying fish, 1750. Source: Wellcome Collection |
Throughout, the show explores the diverse experiences and rich lore of those who live by, work on, or depend upon the sea. One example that stood out for me was Japanese artist Taiso Yoshitoshi’s woodcut collage showing, in almost cartoon-like style, the life-or-death combat between an abalone diver and an octopus. A woman abalone diver wrestling with an octopus (c. 1870) impressed both for its dramatic image of a diver grappling with the tentacles of a huge octopus, and its arresting composition. The label informs that for more than a thousand years ama, or ‘sea-women’ have dived for pearls and seafood off the coast of Japan, and even today ama dive without breathing equipment. The ancient tradition has declined in recent years, however.
Later, reading up on Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), I learn that he is recognised as one of the last in a great line of Ukiyo-e printmakers, which include the celebrated Hokusai, and that he was concerned with the loss of many outstanding things from the traditional Japan, abalone free-diving presumably one of them.
Mermaids make their appearance in the next gallery, dedicated to works inspired by mythology and imaginary aquatic realms. In prime position is the celebrated Surrealist painting, A Siren in Full Moonlight (1940) by Belgian painter Paul Delvaux: an arresting, dreamlike scene comprising classical architecture and enigmatic mermaid; interestingly Delvaux had studied architecture before switching to painting, and though never joining a Surrealist group was much influenced by de Chirico and Magritte. Here too is Christopher Wood’s Ulysses and the Sirens or Mermaids (1929), an action-packed re-telling of a Greek myth, albeit in a 20th century setting; and Thomas Lowinsky’s (1892-1947) The Dawn of Venus (1922). Plus, hung in a space all of their own, an inventive series of 27 Mermaids by contemporary Swiss painter Klodin Erb (b. 1963) that offer joyful glimpses of, for instance, a merman combing his hair, mermaids practising their synchronised swimming… In Erb’s world anything is possible.
Historical works juxtapose the more contemporary, keeping the vibe alive. Contemporary British artist Nicola Bealing (b. 1963) vibrant visions of the undersea world, such as Dead Man’s Fingers II (2020) certainly fit that brief. Less imaginary, is a rare chance to view a work created by marine organisms: Sea Sculpture (c. 1725), which incorporates ceramicware lost at sea and colonised by corals.
Klodin Erb, Mermaids #22, 2023. Image courtesy of the Artist and Bernheim Gallery. Photography by Stefan Altenburger Photography Zürich. © Klodin Erb |
Upstairs, a room dedicated to a group of works from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, includes both bark paintings and prints to suggest a profound feeling for the marine world. While most here depict identifiable creatures, turtles, fish and other oceanic inhabitants, painted in exquisite ochre pigments by known and unknown makers, one more complex piece, Victor Motlop’s Karakal Kula is a masterwork of storytelling.
Not to forget the origin story of the Dugong, the Gelam story told via a linocut in the exhibition’s opening gallery (where light levels are low for the sake of the artworks). David Bosun’s small hand-coloured linocut could be missed among the other intriguing works in this gallery, but that would be a mistake. Trained in Northern Queensland, Australia, along with others in that group of young artists, Bosun adopted linocut to explore ancestral myths and stories. Intricate linear patterns curl and swirl in Bosun’s Gelam Nguzu Kazi, 2001, telling the story of a young man who deserts his mother for having deceived him. He carves the first dugong out of a tree and takes to the water in it, so becoming the dugong, leaving her to lament by the shore.
Curly tails, curly seaweed shapes, mermaid hair, flow and unite the works in this excellent show. It is a quietly delightful and fascinating exhibition. What’s more, with Hastings Contemporary situated on the historical seafront in Hastings Old Town, looking over one of Europe’s oldest and largest beach-launched fishing fleets, and a great café, it makes a great day out.
James Russell says: “I'm excited about the internationalism of the show, as we have works from the UK, USA, Japan, China, India, Australasia, Europe and Africa.” He adds: “There are themes which I think will appeal widely, particularly the mermaid’s section, among which Delvaux's A Siren in Full Moonlight and a set of 27 strange and wonderful mermaid paintings by Klodin Erb are fabulous. Another striking work is Mia Weiner’s contemporary textile piece Sirens. Visitors are in for a treat!”
An immersive site-specific installation, The Sun Feeds the Wind is also on view at the Hastings gallery. Part of a project that focusses on one of Europe's oldest fishing communities - Hastings has the largest beach launched fleet in Europe, still numbering 25 boats - and created in collaboration with artist Mary Hooper and the Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society, the installation builds on living histories to document and celebrate the cultural and industrial heritage of the Hastings fishing community.
Hastings Contemporary Gallery
Hastings, UK
Both Undersea and The Sun Feeds the Wind run until the 14th September 2025.