The Thames Estuary is an archaic landscape.
It has been witness to the Romans’ arrival in London, it has seen ships setting out for the New World and returning from the Empire laden with booty.
Much of the Estuary remains marshland, now awaiting the final attack; the expansion of London's urban sprawl (The Thames Gateway Development) as well as the prospect of rising sea levels.
Soundings From The Estuary is an ongoing project that is inspired by the Estuary's industrial, architectural, and maritime traces as well as the present threat to the existing terrain that is both diverse and eccentric. The work incorporates the collecting of sound using ambient and spoken word pieces, photographs and video to consider the relationship between the aural and the visual.
The artists Frank Watson, Germander Speedwell and Dave Lawrence have produced work that evokes an overlooked and disappearing landscape that is unique if not melancholic and deserves a second glance if not a sympathetic ear.
A selection of the work produced for this project will be on show at the
Novas Contemporary Urban Centre as part of the London Festival of Architecture.
(see info page for exhibition details)