Grounding ourselves: new exhibition in London explores our complex relationship to the earth
“Listening to the Earth” at Drawing Room brings together ten artists who work with the earth as both subject and material
Grounding ourselves: a new London exhibition delves into humanity's intricate relationship with the earth. On a misty September morning, the artist Mary Lemley ventured to an unassuming parapet wall overlooking a dock, where she lowered a seven-meter calico banner into the water. The cloth bore a striking red ochre pigment, soaked from a seam stitched into its center.
This piece was part of the exhibition "Listening to the Earth" held at the Drawing Room in Bermondsey, which celebrates ten international artists creating works using earth as both subject and material. The show spans generations, geographies, and terrains, emphasizing the importance of paying close attention to our surroundings.
Lemley's banner is complemented by various artworks, including David Nash's drawings of a wooden boulder's journey and Mohammad Alfaraj's charcoal drawings of dancing palms. These pieces highlight the interconnectedness of seemingly disparate sites, from Cornwall's abandoned mines to Ghana's mineral-rich coast. The exhibition also features David Alesworth's aerial photographs of Ginko tree leaves used in cement manufacturing, a major contributor to global CO2 emissions.
Personal memories and histories are explored through Lemley's wall-mounted text drawings and soundscape, recorded from her Hackney council flat.
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