Sea Like a Mirror

Sea Like a Mirror is an ambitious national partnership programme, commissioned to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), inspired by the profound legacy of their life-saving work and the special status its volunteer crews occupy in the collective consciousness of our island nation. 

At the heart of Sea Like a Mirror, is a newly commissioned artwork, White Horses, by Ivan Morison, from the collaborative practice of Heather Peak and Ivan Morison. Commissioned to mark the 200th anniversary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), it is inspired by the profound legacy of their life-saving work and the special status its volunteer crews occupy in the collective consciousness of our island nation. 

This travelling work, housed within a unique, custom-made sculptural tent will be installed on the seafront, immersing audiences in the stories of RNLI crew and local people from around our coastline. Within this structure, Ivan’s new work, White Horses, will be screened using 16mm projection and accompanied by live music from local musicians, presenting a multifaceted portrait of the sea and the nation’s coastal towns, bringing together six diverse locations, each linked by the lifeboat station at the centre of their community.

Produced through a series of visits to lifeboat stations and seaside towns around the coastline, and in close collaboration with those who hold a deep connection to the water, the work explores the sea’s innate duality as a place of wonder and peril, and the myriad roles it plays for coastal communities.

“When I began this wintertime survey of the coast, I was looking for storms, and people who face that storm, people who have found a place in the service of the sea. I have met fishermen of lobsters and crab, farmers of oysters, I have seen where we build our nation’s nuclear submarines, and understood the changing economies of these coastal towns, I have been out to wind farms and watched blade technicians at work, I have darted between huge tankers with a sixth-generation skipper on his tug, and I have swam with those that swim and been saved by those that save. 

Yes I have found waves, sometimes there have been storms, but more than that I think I have found a changing but thriving coast populated by people with a sparkle in their eyes, doing remarkable things with an understated competence, and a lightness and joy. It’s this everyday preparedness, the ability to perform in extreme conditions, that I think I am looking for, and that perhaps the final work may illustrate. This is not a comprehensive survey, just an impression, the film an evocation of the spirit of these places and people.” – Ivan Morison

In each setting, White Horses will be accompanied by a series of commissions by local artists, made in collaboration with the area’s community in dialogue with Ivan’s central artwork.

The Edge of The Land 

The first our community engagement projects sees artist Kate Munro working with a group young people and children of RNLI families in Overstrand. Together, the group will explore themes of the sea, local maritime culture, and the notion of rescue through a series of creative workshops. The results of these workshops will be transformed into stunning kites that will be exhibited at Cromer Artspace throughout Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2025.  

S.O.S. Superheroes of The Sea 

The second of our community engagement projects is led by dance and theatre artist Neil Paris. Neil is working with students from Sidestrand Hall School to create a new dance theatre piece inspired by superheroes and the transformation of RNLI volunteers from ordinary individuals to lifesavers at sea. The resulting piece will be performed during the Cromer leg of the White Horses tour.  

Connection to our Artist Bursary Scheme 

We are thrilled to be working with one of our 2024 Artist Bursary recipients, circus and theatre artist Florencia Nannetti, who will be working with Kate and Neil on their respective projects. Florencia joins us as a Guest Artist and will be leading workshops with the young people, sharing her practice and teaching the groups new skills to help further develop each project.  

White Horses will premiere in Whitstable and then travel onto Cromer to be presented from 15 – 18 May as part of Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2025. The Edge of The Land will be exhibited at Cromer Artspace from 14 – 26 May, and S.O.S. Superheroes of The Sea will be performed twice on 17 May. Full details of timings and locations will be available soon.  

Sea Like a Mirror is a partnership project led by Cement Fields, with Art Gene, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, North East Lincolnshire Council & East Marsh United, and Super Culture. Delivered in collaboration with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and supported with public funding from Arts Council England. Presented in Gravesend with Estuary Festival.

Artists

Ivan Morison

Kate Munro

Neil Paris

Florencia Nannetti

Location

Cromer, Overstrand, Sidestrand

Participants

RNLI Cromer, North Norfolk Surf Life Saving Club, Sidestrand Hall School, young people from Overstand

Partners

Sea Like a Mirror is a partnership project led by Cement Fields, with Art Gene, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Create North East Lincolnshire working with East Marsh United, and Super Culture. Delivered in collaboration with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and supported with public funding from Arts Council England.