Earth Stories

The stories the earth tells us are of permanence and change, of solidity and fluidity; from the time capsule ages caught in layers of strata to the brief impression of footprints in wet sand, this earth is both static and always changing. The earth speaks to us of changing seasons, the turning of the wheel of the year, and the slow turning of the geological ages.

The earth speaks to us of time, of processes of anabolic and catabolic energy, building up and breaking down. It is at the seashore that these processes can often be seem most clearly as the stone formed millennia ago meets the inexorable force of the tides; rocks & stones rattle up and down with the pull of the water gouging fantastical shapes, wearing away into sculpted forms, eventually becoming sand. In the numinous world between sea and shore these transmutations change with every change of weather and season. Each place can show a thousand different faces, from the clarity & deep jewel-like colours of a perfect summer’s day, to a thick winter fog where forms fade in and out of sight and imagination.

Inland, the enduring and permanent hills and the timeless ramparts of the cliffs are covered with the fleeting lives of animals and birds, the seasonal life of the plants, and the ephemeral butterfly. Man leaves his mark in ancient standing stones which weather into the land, barrows, quoits, circles & menhirs all a testament to man’s search for systems of meaning and understanding.

These dualities, of permanence and change, are the basis of this exhibition as our work reflects these different aspects. From hyper-real to abstract, from the solid and permanent to the insubstantial & imaginative, from static forms to the split second of choice of the photograph, we felt that this combination of work best reflected the multiplicity of the stories of the earth.

Sue Emery -
"My work investigates geological processes, and re-tells the earths story in sculpture and abstract photography. My work for this show will include sculpture & photography, and I will be revisiting my original art form of painting."

Sue Bonnick -
“Earth Stories is about the stories that the land and the environment have to tell and the transformations and processes that create these stories. My work for this show will look closely at the stories the earth has to tell us, with regard to Cornwall – its coastlines the rocks and sea, and where time, nature and the weather have affected or altered this, creating stories of the land and earth through photographic images.”

Sarah Vivian –
“My oil paintings, with their glowing hyper-reality, represent the solidly permanent aspects of interpretation of the Earth’ stories. The work for this exhibition includes Ancient Sites where man has left a mark on the landscape, and the seashore, where the forces of weather have left their marks on the rocks.”

Izumi Omori –
“I absorb the beauty of Cornwall and link this with my Japanese traditions and striking use of textures, to express my love of nature in my paintings.”