Dark Matters

Dark Matters welcomes the onset of the short days and long nights.  Myths and legends of an ‘in-between’ play a part in the Winter celebrations with All Hallows Eve and the end of British Summer time.  This transition into darkness offers infusions of light and dark psychological states.  The artists exhibiting in Dark Matters offer us the in-between and the other.  It’s an opportunity to collect timeless and affordable art.

-Artists:

Fernanda Cortes – Ceramic Sculptor

Peter Heaton – Image Maker

Nick H Moor – Surreal Photographer

Sarah Williams – Super Real Painter

Outwith by Kialy Tihngang

Kialy Tihngang is a multidisciplinary artist based in Glasgow who draws on her British- Cameroonian identity to explore Blackness, queerness, Britishness, and the crushing structural oppressions that surround these personal themes. For ‘Outwith’, Tihngang creates a reflective space in which to view two films that are centred around bodies of water. Both films draw on Tihngang’s research into colonial European misrepresentation, extraction, and demonisation of West African cultural practices, intentionally using processes of misremembering, misreading, and romanticisation to reimagine histories and speculate on futures. By combining the dark humour of Nollywood with the aesthetics of retrofuturism, she satirises the visual language of advertisements aimed at mass Western audiences.

‘For Those In Peril On The Sea’ follows a group of enslaved Africans who have jumped overboard a slave ship. In the water they encounter the master’s tools, European maritime technology such as periscopes and diving suits. With these materials they build fetishes for traditional African water deities. These take the form of wearable, 2-metre-tall periscope suits. They invoke the deities’ power and protection by ritualistically wearing the suits and are able to re-cross the Atlantic underwater and return home.

The term ‘fir gorma’, which is translated from ancient Irish chronicles as ‘blue men’, is thought by historians and folklorists to refer to enslaved North African people who were brought to Ireland and the Scottish Hebrides by Vikings. In ‘fir gorma’ (the 2024 duo show) for Glasgow International Festival, Josie KO was in conversation with Kialy Tihngang, drawing on their contrasting and converging explorations into Black British histories and identities, producing a duo exhibition incorporating film and sculpture. ‘fir gorma’ (the research project) is an ongoing research project created by Josie KO in 2020. Using archival records that date the presence of Black people to precolonial 9th century Scotland, in ‘Neyinka and the Silver Gong’ Tihngang imagines how some ‘blue men’ escaped captivity, fled to an uncharted Scottish island, and formed a maroon clan. Tihngang weaves a rich lore and material culture for this clan, reflecting on how this displaced community might have constructed their own Scottish identity.

Tihngang experiences constant questioning of her existence in Scotland, which intensifies her nebulous sense of national identity. ‘Neyinka and the Silver Gong’ is being screened concurrently at Jupiter Artland in Edinburgh, the dual showing reflecting on her identity as a Black English woman living in Scotland.

Lacemakers – A New Perspective

Join the curatorial team at the Ferens to learn about new research into Lacemakers, Ceylon, by Edward Atkinson Hornel.

Purchased for Hull in 1908, this beautifully executed painting tells a dark story of child labour and trafficking in the British Empire. Learn about what Gallery founder Thomas Ferens thought of this, and how the artist approached his subject to create this complex and important work.

Quiet Day @ The Deep

Visit us and enjoy a more relaxed, tranquil atmosphere on our upcoming Quiet Day.

The lights and audio in the aquarium will be adjusted to create a calming experience for guests who may find these distracting.

Visitors can enjoy a varied timetable of BSL-interpreted presentations scheduled throughout the day, including a scatter feed, dive presentation, interactive turtle hospital sessions and more!

Please see below for the full timetable of talks and sessions:

  • 10:30- Artefact Handling at Discovery Corner (Lagoon of Light)
  • 11:00- Endless Oceans Feed Dive Presentation
  • 11:30- Interactive Turtle Hospital
  • 12:00- Lagoon of Light Scatter Feed
  • 13:00- Interactive Turtle Hospital
  • 13:30- Artefact Handling at Discovery Corner (Lagoon of Light)
  • 14:00- Presentation at Endless Ocean
  • 14:30- Artefact Handling at Discovery Corner (Lagoon of Light)
  • 15:00- Interactive Turtle Hospital
  • 15:30- Penguin Feed at the Kingdom of Ice

Plus, enjoy drop-in sensory activities with our Education Team between 10:30am-2:30pm in Halfway Café!

This event is included within your standard admission price; no additional booking is required.

Hull Print Collective’s Winter Exhibition

The Hull Print Collective is an evolving group of printmakers employing a very personal approach to printmaking media to realise observations, ideas, memories and feelings.

The Collective whilst working at home meets weekly at Hull College to exchange ideas, offer advice and use the facilities to print and make final work. The works in this exhibition have been created by many members, some of which have been printing for many years and some who are very excellent beginners within the group! The variety of old and new ideas means that the works reflect personal interests by adopting a variety of styles, whether that be taking a graphic, abstract, decorative, narrative approach or by creating a realistic view.

The exhibition will be on display in Burton Constable’s Stable Block over the winter season, and will be open daily 10am – 4pm other than the 25th – 26th December 2024.

Wilberforce House © Neil Holmes

Echoes of Our Heritage

​Echoes of Our Heritage is a captivating exhibition a captivating exhibition that explores the rich history of Black music. As part of “The Sound of Our Skin” festival, this exhibition celebrates the vibrant and transformative power of Black musical traditions.

Beginning in Africa, where rhythm and melody were woven into daily life, Black music has journeyed across continents, profoundly shaping global culture. “Echoes of Our Heritage” highlights how African rhythms, such as the clave—a distinctive three-beat pattern—travelled through the transatlantic slave trade. These rhythms blended with other musical elements to create influential genres like blues, jazz, reggae, and hip-hop.

This exhibition showcases pivotal moments and influential figures in Black music, reflecting its resilience and creativity. It also highlights how contemporary Black musicians use their art to tackle social issues and inspire change.

Join us in celebrating this rich musical legacy and discover how the echoes of the past continue to shape the music of today.

Brooklands Photography Society Exhibition

 Brooklands Photographic Society will be holding an exhibition of 100 photographs taken by their members at the Minster in mid September. The images cover all subjects such as nature, people, landscapes and many other subjects and are all available to buy with a few exceptions.

Brooklands is one of the largest photo interest clubs in Hull and was formed in 1968. It has members of all ages and of differing photography ability from beginner to advanced and has a number of vacancies for new members. Meetings are held at Sutton Methodist church every Tuesday evening at 7.30pm.

Members of the club will be available at the exhibition to answer any questions you may have about the images of any queries about potential membership

Planetary Poems Exhibition

Poetry & Space combine for this unique exhibition of poems in homage to the Planets in our solar system, and the dwarf planet Pluto (now de-classified as a ‘planet’ since 2006). Use the QR codes on each panel to experience audiovisual recordings of the poems, alongside poetry text, and images of each planet. The series includes a poem for ‘Earth’ itself, set in the context of its celestial neighbours, and the exhibition is thought to be one of the first artistic interpretations to account for the true colour of Neptune (since it was announced on 5th January this year, that the planet is not the deep blue we have come to know, but an extremely pale shade of blue/green).

Anyone who shares a fascination with the stars, space, astronomy, and the wider Cosmos, will enjoy these poetic interpretations of our solar neighbourhood.

Sam Bartle was born in Hull and writes poetry in rhyming verse. His work has received publication in various magazines and journals, including Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Dreich Magazine, and Green Ink Poetry. He has also featured at The High Wolds Poetry Festival and appeared on BBC Radio York’s ‘Upload’ programme.

Sam has a website and blogs about his poetry at www.poetinverse.com .

Sam Larter – Artist in Residence

Sam Larter makes sculptures using materials that are free, readily available, donated or discarded, transforming their original purpose. Observation and drawing are important to her practice. She often works quickly, in a spontaneous way, responding to materials and processes, exploring and experimenting.

Inspired by the colours and forms in works by Jan van Goyen and Frank Auerbach, and the references to geometry in Edgar Bundy’s The Night School, Sam has created a symmetrical sculpture constructed using several forms made from wooden frames and found materials.

Sam believes that everybody should have access to art and advocates making art with materials that are readily available to hand. She works as a Special Educational Needs teaching assistant at a secondary school in East Yorkshire, and has worked with Saturday Art Club and schools from around Hull during her residency.

Born in Bradford, Sam now lives and works in Hull where she makes sculptures, drawings, and prints. She has a BA in Fine Art from Hull School of Art and Design, 2017, and has shown work in a number of solo and group exhibitions around Yorkshire. In 2022 she was nominated for the Henry Moore Foundation Artist Award.

Don’t Worry, Beach Happy

Stuck for indoor plans during the holidays? We’ve got you covered all summer long!

From 19th July-1st September, join our Crew for a spectacular summer with ‘Don’t Worry, Beach Happy’! Help us celebrate the fantastic coastline that is right on our doorstep, and home to some of the world’s best Jurassic and Cretaceous geology!

Take part in our new interactive Treasure Trail! Spot the clues around the aquarium to uncover a hidden message, and be entered for a chance to win a special summer prize bundle!

Discover fascinating facts about our Yorkshire coastline with daily presentations at 11am, 1pm and 3pm, with a focus on a different beach each week! Learn about some of the gems of our Yorkshire coast and hear all about our top picks for fossil hunting, rockpooling and more. If history is your interest, then come along and hear tales of historical folklore; there’s something for everyone!

Enjoy summer-themed photo opportunities and face-painting outside (weather permitting!)

Pick up a tasty ice-cream treat from our café or shop, and spend some time in the sunshine on our outdoor picnic area.

Our ‘Don’t Worry, Beach Happy’ event is included within your standard admission; no additional booking is required. Visitors are highly advised to book their visit in advance.

Hope to ‘sea’ you soon!

Shark Awareness Day!

Mad about sharks? So are we! 

On the 13th-14th July, why not join us for a JAW-some weekend to celebrate Shark Awareness Day!

Uncover fascinating facts about our incredible shark species in daily presentations running at 11am, 1pm and 3pm.

Get close up to some fin-tastic shark artefacts on display in Endless Ocean.

Listen in to daily shark talks at Endless Ocean and enjoy themed artefact handling sessions at Dylan’s Discovery Corner.

Each standard admission ticket purchased is an Annual Pass, so you can enjoy unlimited free returns for 12 months after paying just once!

Our Shark Awareness Weekend event is included within your standard admission; no additional booking is required. Visitors are highly advised to book their visit in advance.

The Mosaic Path

Curated by guest artist, Linda Ingham, this yearly exhibition is inspired by the ecological term for the combination of environments – ‘mosaic’ – inherent from location to location. A Mosaic Path is an investigation of landscape and place through the eyes of four artists considering such subjects today.

 

Close observation of storeys and stories of places conserved, disturbed, reimagined, string across Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire. The artists research and form a visual metaphorical path. The selected artists’ works are gathered within this exhibition to offer us an exploration of the land in this current climate crisis. A land that speaks of the present, past, and future.

 

Adele Howitt, Studio Eleven Director: “Rising from the rubble or waste aggregates in ‘brown field’ sites, the mosaic path is the proliferation of plants that are thriving in adverse conditions. This low fertile environment provides the potential for a diverse mosaic of planting which can be very beneficial for wildlife. There is enormous scope to promote this approach at all scales to create climate change for people and wildlife.”

 

The Artists

Linda Ingham

Linda Ingham’s process-led practice grows out of her interest in landscape and place. Life as a gardener, allotment-holder, and a love of walking complement her work, and she regularly works with the Wildlife Trusts and RSPB to document portions of reserves along the east coast.

Botanical beauty and the folk histories of plants we often overlook on a daily basis was where this began some years ago for her, but PLACE is always important and though plants perhaps star within Ingham’s compositions, location is always a major consideration in each series or composition.

Linda Ingham has her studio at The Ropewalk in North Lincolnshire and achieved her MA Fine Art from Lincoln University in 2007. Exhibiting nationally and internationally her works are represented in collections in Britain, China and the USA. She is a member of the curated group, Contemporary British Painting.

Richard Hatfield

The colours, scale and nature of the landscape provide a constant source for Richard’s image making. The paintings are the amalgamation of the remembered, the fleetingly observed and the emblematic motifs imprinted on the retina.  The paintings are constructed using layer upon layer of thin colour that produce an intensity of pigment or create ambiguous veils of paint that vaguely describe the subject. Often painted over a coarse textured ground, layers of paint are added and subsequently removed generating a rich patination of surface. Richard is one of the Directors of the Ropewalk in Barton.

Helen Thomas

Helen Thomas is a contemporary British painter based in Wakefield, England. She graduated from Falmouth School of Art (BA Fine Art) and completed a year of postgraduate study with Turps Art School.  Helen works with drawing and painting, on-site and in the studio, to consider humanity’s relationships with plants.  Solo exhibitions: Habitat, Mura Ma, Stockport, 2024. Helen’s Arts Council England Funded project ‘Dandelions and Double Yellows’ culminated in a solo exhibition at Wakefield Cathedral as part of the Festival of The Earth in 2021.  Group exhibitions include Planting Ideas, St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery, Hampshire, 2024; Precious Little, Mura Ma, Stockport, 2023; Babble, Ilkeston Contemporary, Derbyshire, 2023; Entwined: Plants in Contemporary Painting, Huddersfield Art Gallery, 2022 and 20-21 Visual Arts, Scunthorpe 2023; Conversations with Nature, The Art House, Wakefield, 2022 and Jerwood Drawing Prize 2016.

Steve Gresham

Steve Gresham graduated with a degree in Fine Art from the University of Nottingham in 2014. His mixed media work focuses on two landscapes of particular interest to him: the Lincolnshire coast and the Humber estuary and, as seen in these pieces, Assynt in the north west of Scotland. As well as exhibiting work in The Tarpey Gallery at Castle Donington, various Summer Exhibitions at the Djanogly Gallery at the University of Nottingham in which he was shortlisted for the Cedric Ford Art Prize, the Ropewalk Gallery at Barton on Humber and the Open Exhibition at The Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, he has had solo exhibitions at The Old Lock Up Gallery in Cromford, Bromley House Subscription Library in Nottingham, and The Old Coach House in Louth.

Katie Braida

Katie makes sculptural vessels and forms using a variety of hand building techniques.  Working with soft clay, coils and slabs, she allows the material to move and suggest direction for development.  Creating forms leads to the exploration of the surface.  Katie creates texture and pattern based on the rhythms and patterns within the environment.  Colour is applied to the subtlety textured surfaces, generating a depth of colour but retaining a softness and tactile quality that invites interaction.

Live Like Legends Exhibition

Live Like Legends, an exhibition celebrating Hull’s vibrant street art and graffiti scene. Spanning two floors, the show explores the joys and complexities of this unique form of public expression, which has had a striking presence in Hull since the early 1980s.

Live Like Legends showcases newly commissioned artworks from several generations of artists who have significantly shaped this cultural movement over the past forty years. The exhibition includes an immersive, multimedia installation of curated mementos, photography, and previously unseen archive footage. It explores the crossover between the street art scene and other aspects of street and youth culture, alongside society more broadly.

The Deep Presents: Big Bug Bonanza!

On 29th June- 30th June, join us for Big Bug Bonanza, an event celebrating all things insect to mark the end of Royal Entomological Society’s Insect Week!

Take a look as we explore some of the world’s biggest and smallest creepy-crawlies in our daily presentations, running at 11am, 1pm and 3pm.

Investigate closer into the lifecycle of insects and just how important they are to our ecosystems through interactive and hands-on activities.

Big Bug Bonanza is included in your standard admission price; no additional booking is required. Visitors are highly recommended to pre-book their visit in advance.

Pushing the Edge Exhibition

Exhibition of abstract paintings from Annie Luke Turner, Christopher Tansey, Rob Hall and sculpture by Sam Larter on Pier street off Humber Street Hull.

Innovative, expressive and exciting work which pushes the boundaries of painting and sculpture.

Join the launch on Friday 5th July from 5pm!

How Queer!

Eclectic Gallery Presents… is an annually curated gallery space. This year our theme is inclusivity and diversity through the visual arts, celebrating the work of local LGBTQ+ artists and their allies. The space provided will also be a “quiet space” for anyone who needs a break away from the hustle and bustle during Pride.

We are now inviting artist submissions for our Eclectic Gallery Presents event – ‘How Queer’ to be held at Maister House from the 24th-27th July 2024.