Legacy

Over the last 10 years Brenda and Sarah have worked on a series of collaborative projects which have been exhibited nationally and internationally. Through discussion they develop and combine their skills in two and three dimensions.

Their current project looks towards the future and the legacy left behind as a result of climate change and pollution.

Based on research, they are asking questions and speculating. Their focus has been on the effects of coastal erosion, forever chemicals and microplastics and what we are contributing towards the archaeology of the future.

This show will include sculpture, prints and textiles.

Opening event: Thursday July 16, 17:30

Open Late: Thursday July 23, 18:00-20:00

Legacy Project 2024 — 2026
Sarah Caputo and Brenda Unwin

Sarah Caputo (sculptor) and Brenda Unwin (painter) are professional Norfolk artists who work together on collaborative projects alongside their own practices. Collaboratively, we have explored the historical connections between East Anglia and Denmark, immigration and the exchange of skills and ways of enabling the general public to make connections with each other. Since our initial collaboration in 2014, our work has been exhibited in China, Denmark and the UK.

The future and the Legacy we will leave is the focus of our current project with the emphasis on how our society will be viewed in the years to come. We are exploring the impact of the Anthropocene age through visual imagery in print, sculpture, ceramics and screenprinted textiles.

We are asking questions and speculating. We are considering the things that may never disappear, leaving a lethal footprint: the forever archaeology that the ‘plastic era’ is bequeathing to future generations.

How will the environment adapt? What will archaeology reveal about our attitudes towards human existence in the long term? Will our children’s children marvel at the speed of advances in science, technology and medicine, or will they see landfill sites, the dumping of nuclear waste and the use of forever chemicals, as thoughtless and short-sighted.

We are also highlighting endangered mammals, insects, flora and birds, some particular to East Anglia.

Norfolk is home to a marine protected area and is the stronghold for priority species including the swallowtail butterfly, bittern and stone curlew. These wonderful places and wildlife are under threat from pollution, habitat loss and our changing climate.

Cromer Art Space is a particularly apposite location for this exhibition, as East Anglia continues to be severely affected by atypical weather events.