The Sainsbury Centre presents 'A World of Water', an exhibition exploring our shared and increasingly precarious relationship to the sea. Curated by John Kenneth Paranada, the first Curator of Art and Climate Change in a UK museum who, in early 2024, led a group of artists and researchers on a 36-hour journey by sea in pursuit of the question, “can the seas survive us?”; 'A World of Water' shines a light on the collective, global effort to mitigate the impacts of climate change and to support action which restores marine ecosystems.
'A World of Water' is one of three concurrent exhibitions – 'A World of Water', 'Darwin in Paradise Camp: Yuki Kihara' and 'Sea Inside' – in a programme exploring the fundamental question 'Can the Seas Survive Us?', which brings together works and objects whose lives span great distances, both chronologically and geographically, to address critical contemporary issues around our connection to our planet, our seas, and each other.
The exhibition takes East Anglia’s deep maritime connections to the Low Countries of Europe as its starting point to look at the human impact on the interconnected seas that shape our world of water. The works shown in the exhibition bridges the past and present, revealing how the sea mirrors human experience of time and space, and shapes environments, cultural identities and collective anxieties.
Spanning works by British and international artists from as early as 1540 to the present day, 'A World of Water' showcases some incredible artists who bring to life their unique perspectives of evolving marine ecosystems and oceanic habitats. It features works by historical and contemporary artists including Maggi Hambling, Eva Rothschild, John Crome, Olafur Eliasson, and George Vincent.
Looking back to the cross-pollination between Norfolk and the Netherlands throughout the 16th century as its starting point, the exhibition presents maps and atlases dating back five hundred years, and includes seascapes typical of the Dutch Golden Age, tracing their influence through time to inspire the artists of the Norwich School in 19th-century East Anglia.
Bringing together archival materials with historical and contemporary works – from turbulent seascapes to abstract representations of water’s dynamic forms – A World of Water traces the shift in artistic perceptions of the sea, from romanticised seascapes to urgent reflections on environmental crisis, adaptation and resilience.
John Kenneth Paranada, Curator of Art and Climate Change at the Sainsbury Centre, said: "'A World of Water' charts shifting tides, vanishing coastlines, and the voices of communities on the frontlines of climate change. Spanning five centuries, it connects the North Sea to global waters, exposing how power structures shape ecological futures. As rising seas redraw maps and disrupt economies, the exhibition demands a reckoning: What must change to secure the future of our entangled seas?"
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