Sea Like a Mirror is an ambitious national partnership programme, commissioned to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), inspired by the profound legacy of their life-saving work and the special status its volunteer crews occupy in the collective consciousness of our island nation.
At the heart of the programme is a newly commissioned artwork, White Horses, by Ivan Morison, from the collaborative practice of Heather Peak and Ivan Morison, exploring our complex relationship with the sea through its innate duality as a place of both wonder and jeopardy, and the myriad roles it holds for coastal communities.
Combining sculpture, 16mm film and music, this travelling work will be immersed in the stories and experiences of RNLI crew and local people with a deep connection to the water. White Horses presents a multifaceted portrait of the sea and the nation’s coastal towns, bringing together six diverse locations, each linked by the lifeboat station at the centre of their community.
“The sea and its storm state seems to me to be a suitable metaphor for modern life, with the RNLI’s volunteers, in their permanent state of absolute preparedness to help those in peril, suggesting something hopeful for all of our survival. Perhaps this work can help us look back at ourselves from the perspective of the sea, to better understand the nature of the storm.” – Ivan Morison
Produced through a series of visits to lifeboat stations and seaside towns around the English coastline – Whitstable, Cromer, Weston-super-Mare, Cleethorpes, Barrow-in-Furness, and Gravesend – the work will be unveiled in spring 2025 and return to each location as part of a national tour.
In each setting, White Horses will be accompanied by a series of projects by local artists in collaboration with the area’s community. In dialogue with Ivan’s central artwork, these local projects will open conversations on wellbeing, the changing landscapes and identities of seaside towns, the spiritual role the water holds for communities, and the differing relationships to the sea in these diverse coastal settings.
Dates and details of the full programme will be announced in spring 2025.
Sea Like a Mirror is a partnership project led by Cement Fields, with Art Gene, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Create North East Lincolnshire working with East Marsh United, and Super Culture. Delivered in collaboration with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and supported with public funding from Arts Council England.
