Sea Like a Mirror is an ambitious national partnership programme, commissioned to mark 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, made in close collaboration with those who hold a deep connection to the water. Produced through a series of visits to lifeboat stations and seaside towns around the coastline, this travelling 16mm film work, housed in a sculptural tent, explores the sea’s innate duality as a place of wonder and peril, and the myriad roles it plays for coastal communities.
In each setting, White Horses will be accompanied by a series of commissions by local artists, made in collaboration with the area’s community. In dialogue with Ivan’s central artwork, these local projects will open conversations on wellbeing, history, 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. In Whitstable and Gravesend, Cement Fields are working with Jas Dhillon, and Cherelle Sappleton & Tom Morris.
Opening in Whitstable over the May bank holiday weekend (2-5 May) the work will tour to Cromer (15-18 May), Barrow-in-Furness (22-25 May), Weston-super-Mare (5-8 June), Cleethorpes (12-15 June) before returning to Gravesend for its final weekend (21-22 June).
Sea Like a Mirror is a partnership project led by Cement Fields, with Art Gene, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, North East Lincolnshire Council & 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. Presented in Gravesend for Estuary 2025 with Estuary Festival.
