Dark & Stormy
'The Goodwin Sands No.1', Ltd Edition Photograph, Richard Taylor-Jones
Join Us For an Evening of Art, Conservation and Cocktails
We are delighted to invite you to our biggest and most ambitious exhibition to date. Dark and Stormy is our gallery artists' response to one of the most iconic yet mysterious landmarks in British maritime history - The Goodwin Sands.
The Goodwin are a two vast tidal sandbanks that lie just 6 miles off the coast of Deal. They have become, over the centuries, the final watery resting place of some 2,000 ships and 50,000 of their unfortunate crews.
But they are also home to incredible wildlife like Grey Seals and The Green Hairy Seamouse. The Sands are a unique and special place for both human and natural history. And we want to celebrate them.
To bring you Dark and Stormy we've teamed up with the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust, a charity who are tirelessly working to raise the profile of The Goodwins as it faces the threat of aggregate extraction and disturbance.
The Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust
The Trust has put together their own exhibition of historical pictures, stories and shipwreck artefacts including cannon balls and a Tudor gun that will take over part of the down stairs gallery. 10% of all sales on the launch night will go to the charity. There will also be a raffle where you can win two trips to the Goodwin Sands with Dover Sea Safari, a Richard Taylor-Jones print and a set of books by Tidal Compass author Will Thomson.
' Ghost Ship II', Glow in The Dark Ltd Edition Screen Pint, Loren Beven
Getting Inspiration
The Goodwin Sands have been a muse for artists and writers over the centuries and following in this tradition, our intrepid artists ventured out to The Sands by boat and helicopter to explore them and soak up their ambience. The resulting work from Rachael Talibart, David Hunt, Richard Taylor-Jones, Michele Turriani, Richard Friend, Richard Whadcock, Ben Fenton and Christine Hodson ranges from photography, to paintings, screen prints and sculpture all to be seen for the first time alongside artefacts washed ashore from the wrecks.
Left: Some of our intrepid artists make their way onto The Goodwin Sands. They almost got stuck their when their boat got a rope tied around its engine. Thankfully they got off and weren't another statistic to add to The Sands huge bodycount.
Right: Richard Taylor-Jones took to the air with a lucky client to photograph The Goodwins from the air, spending an hour above the sands he's produced a set of aerial images of The Sands the likes of which will not have been seen for a very long time, if ever before.
The Launch Night - 22nd October 6pm - 8pm
Luckily you won't need a helicopter or boat to get here and we would be delighted if you could join us at the launch of Dark and Stormy.
We have sea shanties being sung to welcome you in, a dark and stormy cocktail to warm you up, a poetry recital and short documentary playing about the Goodwins. It's set to be a wonderful evening so please do RSVP to secure a space. There will be a e-catalogue soon but much of the artwork is still in production, we will let you know when it's ready.
