Edge

Edge: Where the Land Meets the Sea is a major new exhibition exploring the fundamental connection between land and sea, and the vital role both play in sustaining life on our planet.

The edge is a place where terrestrial and marine systems meet: where rivers transport the materials and histories of the land into the sea, and where complex networks of fungi, microbes, water, carbon and nutrients sustain interconnected forms of life.

Through works that move between microscopic ecosystems and expansive coastal landscapes, the exhibition reveals the interdependence of forests and kelp, soils and oceans, human cultures and the more-than-human world.

Co-curated with The Land Gardeners, Edge invites visitors to explore these profound and often unseen connections through painting, photography, film, sculpture and installation.

Inspired by Hastings Contemporary’s unique location on a shingle beach, Edge marks the first of two landmark exhibitions supporting the gallery’s mission to focus its exhibitions and public programme on ocean futures and sustainability. Its companion exhibition, Horizon: Where the Sea Meets the Sky, will open in autumn 2027.

Featured artists: Aimée Parrott, Andy Goldsworthy, Anya Gallaccio, Cedric Morris, Charmaine Watkiss, Cornelia Parker, David Nash, Duncan Grant, Emma Tennant, France Bourely, Frances Kearney, Gillian Wearing, Howard Sooley, Jem Southam, Jo Pearl, Lewis Brander, Lubaina Himid, Maggi Hambling, Mariana Heilmann, Mike Perry, Nancy Cadogan, Otobong Nkanga, Susie Hamilton, Tanoa Sasraku, Theodore Roussel, Thérèse Oulton, Wolfgang Tillmans.

Together, the works lead visitors on a journey from the living richness of the soil, through rivers, waterways and coastal margins, and out into the ocean itself.

Image: Andy Goldsworthy, Sand brought to an edge. To catch the light and incoming tide. Long Island, New York. 6 October 2024 (detail), 2024. Courtesy of Andy Goldsworthy.

Lead supporter:

Edge Exhibition Circle: Kate MacGarry, Thomas Dane Gallery, Vardaxoglou Gallery and Love Soil.