NEPTUNE

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Cotton, driftwood, hessian, linen, metal, sound and twine.

2024​​

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A multi-media installation that questions humanity’s relationship with water and celebrates Neptune, the Roman god of freshwater, river and sea.

 

The installation includes two hanging, appliquéd textiles, each depicting a set of three symbols. Two of these symbols relate to how we use the River Thames (boat and swimmer) and four represent the wildlife that uses it for their habitat (dragonfly, fish, oyster and swan). These are lightly weighted to encourage a wave like movement caused by the wind, allowing the fabric to imitate the waves of the river it sits beside.

 

Beached between the two swing like structures is a cracked canoe named Neptune, that was salvaged from the 2024 floods. Amiralis has up-cycled the object and used a ritualistic action of threading to recreate the cover for the bilge. Twine, a thin and natural fibre, has been used instead of the normal boat canvas for this feature, to symbolise the need for us to reconnect with and protect Earth’s waters.

 

The audience is invited to sit in the beached Neptune and listen to a compilation album curated by the artist. The playlist contains sounds and stories from artists and musicians in celebration of the River Thames and other water bodies of the world.