Following a successful solo show in 2017, Hannah Woodman returns to Tremenheere and brings together a collection of work reflecting the heritage and history of Cornwall’s coast and its communities. While planning for the exhibition, Hannah was further inspired by a a curious family discovery where art unlocked genealogy to unite both past and present. Speaking about her work and the story behind the exhibition, Hannah says:
“All journeys start with a single step and this exhibition started with a painting by Henry Scott Tuke called The Missionary Boat of 1894. I was struck by how this work encapsulated the scale of who we are in our surroundings – the scale of the small approaching vessel to the larger ship towering above and in turn the scale of the yawning sea behind them both, further defined by a tiny ship on the horizon.”
“My whole approach to landscape and seascape painting has always been characterised by trying to realise my own sense of scale in my environment. The strange comfort derived from understanding our insignificance among the vastness of nature is a common thread throughout my work, but something always brings me back to the communities that edge these experiences – the fishing coves and sailing ports, the lone lighthouses and the coastal villages on lanes down to the harbour. I wanted to produce an exhibition in homage to all these people and places, so reflective of Cornwall and its history.”
“What I didn’t know when I started this journey was that the figure in the little boat of Tuke’s painting was a man named James Canning Badger, Chaplain with the British and Foreign Sailors Society in Falmouth from 1887 – 1916. Chart & Compass magazine wrote of him that “what he does not know about the idiosyncrasies of sailors, fishermen and their kith and kin is hardly worth trying to learn.” Chaplain Badger lived on Quay Street in the Seaman’s bethel and his pulpit was made from the bow of a ship. Badger happens to be my middle name so with mild curiosity I looked him up as I was also living in Falmouth at the time. And with that step I found my Great Grandfather. So it turns out that this exhibition is also a homage to family, heritage and all the ties that lie in the blood for generations, steering a course home.”
Hannah’s paintings will be exhibited alongside a collection of ceramic pots by Caroline Winn, which will draw on narratives around migration and trade, using salt as a metaphor.
Tremenheere Gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 4pm. There will be an opening event on Saturday 6th July, midday – 2pm. Works from the exhibition will be available to view and purchase online once the exhibition opens. Entry to Tremenheere Gallery is FREE. With a Single Step… will run in the lower gallery, while at the same time the upper gallery will present Catharine Armitage.
Featured image: Headland Under Storms, Hannah Woodman