In Steps of Sundew

25 Jul-31 Oct 2020

Overview

A group exhibition exploring the push and pull between nature and human presence and the effect that extracting resources from the landscape has upon those living within it. Ikran Abdille Tom Baskeyfield Sarah Gillett Ellie Harrison Liz Lake Onya McCausland Sundew was the name of the largest walking dragline excavator in the world, used in mining operations in Rutland and Northamptonshire between 1957 and 1980. In 1974 plans were devised to relocate the machine to a recently opened British Steel Corporation quarry near Corby. As moving and reconstructing the machine was not viable, Sundew walked 13 miles over an eight-week period. During the walk Sundew carried the message on her rear of “EXCUSE ME, I’m walking to Corby”, crossing three water mains, four watercourses, 13 power lines, ten roads, a railway line, two gas mains, seven telephone lines, 74 hedges, and the River Welland before reaching its new home. Sundews are also species of carnivorous plants, which digest insects through the glands on their leaves in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition of the soil in which they grow. In Steps of Sundew retraces the movement of people and resources from the landscape as well as the dragline excavator’s Great Walk, posing questions about the relationship between the natural and the industrial and how these might coexist whilst avoiding climate breakdown. This exhibition marks the reopening of The Arches, endorsed by the Visit England’s We’re Good To Go Industry Standard consumer mark to reassure visitors that we are adhering to current and ongoing Government and public health guidance. http://fermynwoods.org/in-steps-of-sundew/