Emma Critchley, Hannah Fletcher and Jem Southam are among the artists showcasing their work in Hestercombe's latest exhibition, "What Stories Make Worlds".

Running from July 20, 2024, to February 23, 2025, the exhibition explores our relationship with the environment in the context of climate change and biodiversity loss, as interpreted by a number of prominent artists - including Emma Critchley, Jem Southam and Hannah Fletcher - and by work from Hestercombe's existing collections.

The exhibition charts a journey from the oceans' depths to their shorelines, along rivers and local hills, and finally culminating in Hestercombe’s very own gardens.

Emma Critchley's work utilises photography, film and sound to address humanity's relationship with the underwater environment - focusing, for example, on the imminent threat of deep-sea mining for rare earth minerals.

Meanwhile, Jem Southam’s photographs capture subtle changes in the British landscape throughout the seasons of the year.

His work is defined by a balance of the lyrical and the documentary.

For her part, Hannah Fletcher combines scientific techniques with photographic processes.

Her new work at this exhibition makes use of materials sourced from Hestercombe’s own gardens, including iron, wood ash, nettles, and water, and intertwines this raw stuff with photographic mediums and traditional analogue photographic processes.

The only thing separating the garden in the imagery and the garden in the chemistry, therefore, is time.

The exhibit also includes works from Hestercombe's own collections and engagement activities, as well as a new audio play by Stephanie Weston, 'Charlotte and Emily', commissioned by Theatre West and inspired by Gertrude Jekyll's trowel from Hestercombe’s collections.

Hestercombe Gallery, opened in 2014, has sought to highlight the finest in contemporary arts.

A decade after its inauguration, the gallery has successfully organised a slew of high-quality shows in restored spaces, and invested in outdoor commissions and artist-in-residence programmes.

In addition, numerous talks, workshops and seminars involving artists, academics, students and experts have added to the gallery's reputation as a hub for creative exchange.

Borrowing its title from a book by Donna Haraway, "What Stories Make Worlds" is not just an exhibition of art, but a reflection on how story-formed perception builds our shared world.

All these elements combine to make this exhibit a must-visit for art and environment enthusiasts alike.

Learn more at https://www.hestercombe.com/art-gallery.