Two Seas: Two Artists, Niki Medlik and Hazel Burgess
9 – 14 August 2022
Niki and Hazel have known each other for many years, and share their love of the sea. Having met at a print studio in Surrey they both now live in Norwich, and swim together in the North Sea. The sea is their inspiration and their work explores similar themes. They have exhibited together before in group shows, most recently on the North Norfolk Coast at Cley Contemporary in July 2021, and Woven Waters at Norwich Cathedral Hostry in January 2020.
This exhibition was a response to Niki’s residency in the Aegean. Inspired by the sea and light on the island of Skopelos, her work highlights the dichotomy of natural beauty versus man’s destruction. Exploring alternative photographic and print-making processes, Niki created work on the beaches and in the sea, returning to Norfolk to continue the work she started in Greece.
Hazel’s practice is rooted in water, swimming and walking. Control and chance are important and she allows the physical environment to shape the work. Hazel recently spent 12 hours on the beach, watching and drawing the sea as it flowed from low to high tide and ebbed back again. The sea marked and shaped four etching plates tethered to a groyne, as well as two that were tied to Hazel as she swam. The resulting prints, and the experience of the time and place, form the basis of the work in this show.
instagram @medlikova
studio-medlikova.com
medlikova23@gmail.com
instagram @hazelburgessart
hazel_burgess@btinternet.com
