A disused WWII pillbox situated on the beach at Bembridge is being used as an art installation to communicate environmental issues to the wider public.
‘The Defenceless Container’ is a new exhibition created by India Dickinson. Artists are commissioned annually to create site-specific installations separate from the conventional gallery space. This year the exhibition is supporting the Blue Marine Foundation in their Solent Oyster Restoration Project which plans to reseed 10 million oysters into the Solent by 2020. This project will benefit both the marine environment and the Solent communities.
The work is titled Saltscape – it is a dystopian relic of human interaction with the sea. The installation features 6 tonnes of rock salt, mined from prehistoric seas. Set amongst the salt are a series of 5 sculptures made from reclaimed oak, wax and black pigment. The architectural origins of the reclaimed oak provides contrast to the salt dunes. The work is rooted in the tension between constructed geometric form and free flowing organic material.
The exhibition also features a series of specially commissioned photographs by renowned photographer Claudia Legge.
Claudia shoots primarily in and under water. Aquatic photography is her passion and the cornerstone of her provocative style. She exposes the subtlety of movement using the way that light is refracted through water to create a tension between image and impression.
The exhibition is open to the public for the whole of August and can be found on the beach between Bembridge Harbour and the RNLI lifeboat station.
