Until You Became Me: An exhibition exploring how water connects us
Until You Became Me, is an ArtHouse Jersey supported exhibition exploring how water connects us to each other and our environments. The show is a collaboration a between local artist Karen Le Roy Harris, London-based artist Miriam Sedacca and London-based musician Heather Ryall and runs at the National Trust for Jersey’s Le Moulin de Quétivel (St Peters Valley) until 21 April, 10am and 4pm each day (closed Mondays).
After touring water and tidal mills in Stroud and London, the exhibition will arrive at Le Moulin de Quétivel, the only working historical water mill in the Island. The artworks will include sculpture, installation, performance, sound and film and will see the artists create an immersive space which invites visitors to consider themselves as bodies of water, constantly in flux and intimately connected with others and with their surroundings.
Until You Became Me features installations of ceramic anthropomorphic forms, kinetic works with water, projection, film and papier mache sculptures. It also includes a soundscape by Heather Ryall, who marries sounds from the natural environment with sounds from domestic life and a new film that shows as part of the exhibition which has been partially filmed underwater in Jersey and addresses the relationship Islanders have with the ocean and freshwater.
There will be a special premiere of the Until You Became Me film Ieau as part of a wider film event on Friday 1 April 2022 at Greve de Lecq Barracks.
Of the Until You Became Me exhibition’s water, theme artist Miriam Sedacca said “Human bodies comprise around two-thirds water; as such we have an inseparable and co-substantive relationship with all other bodies of water, whether they be oceans, reservoirs, or any of the millions of species which inhabit the Earth and also hold water within themselves.”
Director for ArtHouse Jersey, Tom Dingle said “ArtHouse Jersey is delighted to be supporting this fascinating exhibition, which explores our connectedness to nature and to each other. It reminds us that we are in fact made from the same elements and are subject to the same natural cycles. The timing of this exploration is particularly pertinent, as is the location given the National Trust for Jersey’s excellent work in looking at the quality and sustainability of our water sources. It is the role of ArtHouse Jersey to support artists to ask key questions and create work that can provoke and inspire the wider public both here in the Island and further afield.’
Catherine Ward, Museums and Collections Manager for the National Trust for Jersey said “The Trust is excited that Karen and Miriam have chosen the Island’s only remaining working watermill as the backdrop for their immersive exhibition, Until you Became Me. Situated in the picturesque St Peter’s Valley, and powered by a small stream that rises under the shadow of St John’s Church, Le Moulin de Quétivel has been milling flour for the people of Jersey, in war and peace, for more than 400 years. We look forward to seeing the space transformed with sculpture, film and performances exploring how water connects us to the wider environment.”
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Karen Le Roy Harris: Born in Jersey and recently returning to the island after working in London. Karen has exhibited site specific installations in museums including National Trust sites Dunham Massey in Manchester and Sutton House in London and with Jersey Heritage at Jersey Museum. She has exhibited at galleries including CCA Galleries International, Pitzhanger Manor Gallery, London, Jersey Arts Centre and Salle du Sépulcre, France. She has undertaken many residencies including an archaeological residency with Les Ateliers Intermédiaires & ArtHouse Jersey. She curated Raw Materials: Wood and Magic Mirror featuring Claude Cahun at the Nunnery Gallery, Bow Art, having been awarded Arts Council funding for several creative projects. She is part of Artist activist group Artists Make Change and recently became a member of the Young Blood Initiative. karenleroyharris.com
Pictured: Artists Karen Le Roy Harris & Miriam Sedecca
Miriam Sedacca: Born in London, Miriam has worked, exhibited and performed internationally since graduating from an MAFA at Central Saint Martins in 2015 with her first solo exhibition in London in 2016. She has organised and co-curated group shows in London and internationally. In 2016 she was awarded a residency at SeMa Nanji, Seoul Museum of Art. As part of her most recent artistic residency she worked with Maria Ibarretxe, funded by the Basque Government, creating and delivering participative workshops for members of the local community and creating a site-specific performance in Sapporo, Japan. miriamsedacca.com
Heather Ryall is a London-based freelance clarinettist and bass clarinettist and particularly enjoys working in settings which allow her to respond to the world around her through improvisation; using contact mics to build closer sonic relationships with nature. As a freelance classical musician, she has worked with Garsington Opera, Riot Ensemble, BCMG, Dr K Sextet, side-by-side with the LSO and with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields as an animateur. She particularly enjoys playing contemporary and new music, improvising and collaborating with composers and has worked with Rebecca Saunders, Bernhard Gander, Harrison Birtwistle, Julian Anderson, Agata Zubel, Clara Iannota, Chaya Czernowin, Stevie Wishart, Sylvia Lim, Clare Elton, Nilufar Habibian and Torsten Herrmann. She is involved in various cross-arts collaborations and is co-artistic director of the cross-arts group, Intertwined Cross-Arts Collective who have recently released a film of their latest work, Tillow.
Until You Became Me takes place at the National Trust for Jersey’s Le Moulin de Quétivel, St Peters Valley from 8 to 21April, 10am and 4pm each day (closed Mondays).
Address: Le Moulin de Quétivel, Le Mont Fallu, St Peter, JE3 7EF
Transport:
By Car - Parking is limited so if driving can you park at the Mill Pond Car Park in St Peter's Valley (approx. 600m north of the site).
Bus Route: 8 (8a)
Cycle Path: from St Helier to Quétivel Mill is approx. 20 minutes
Access: Disabled parking available on site. Ground floor only accessible for mobility impaired visitors. Best to call ahead. 07700390027.
