Hastings: "We are in the planet’s hands, not the other way around"

Kathleen Soriano, director at Hastings Contemporary, said: “Located on the shoreline and with a programme rooted in ocean futures, the gallery is uniquely placed to bring this globally significant project to the south coast.

“The exhibition, originally devised and curated by Artwise Curators for WWF, will include specially commissioned works by leading international artists – including Antony Gormley, Mona Hatoum, Emma Talbot, Anya Gallaccio, Nick Goss and Laura Ford – shining a light on the potential of seaweed as an invaluable tool in the fight against climate change and as a new artistic medium in the hands of critically acclaimed artists.

“The exhibition, which will be free to visit, not only showcases the creative power of artists in times of environmental crisis, but also celebrates seaweed’s remarkable potential: from absorbing carbon and purifying water, to serving as a sustainable material for packaging, food, and now for creating art.

“All exhibited works have been created using OCEAN INK®, the world’s first sustainable and fully biodegradable water-based ink, made from regeneratively farmed seaweed by OCEANIUM in Scotland. This marks the first time that an exhibition has been created using seaweed ink, prompting artists to create a diverse body of work that includes sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking and textiles.”

Kathleen added: “As an organisation that sits directly on the beach, our relationship with the sea informs all that we do. In times when our duty of care towards our oceans has become paramount, our programme and our work with artists is committed to developing conversations around those responsibilities and practices. The artists on display here have embraced the challenge of working with this innovative new material, and the results are as exciting as they are urgent.”

Artist Antony Gormley said: “When I am in the embrace of seawater, I feel most alive and most at home. I am angry at our species’ carelessness. I want to make work that speaks to our dependency on the planet and the elements and acknowledges the fact that we are in the planet’s hands, not the other way around. The human condition is formed by our environment, some of which we have made, but all of which has made us. I want my art to help us reconnect with everything that supports us.”

The Art For Your Oceans artists on display in Hastings are: Andrew Cranston, Laura Footes, Laura Ford, Anya Gallaccio, Antony Gormley, Nick Goss, Mona Hatoum, Beatriz Morales, Daisy Parris, Emma Talbot, and Caragh Turing.

Art For Your Oceans is part of the flagship initiative of Art For Your World, devised and curated by Artwise Curators for WWF-UK. The exhibition debuted at Sotheby’s, London in May 2025.

Founded in 1996, Artwise is a curatorial collective based in London, run by Susie Allen and Laura Culpan, that specialises in curating and producing public art commissions, museum and gallery exhibitions and innovative art projects for charities.