Beth Derbyshire
Artist
Beth Derbyshire joined Cape Farewell on the 2007 Art/Science Expedition. Taking almost three weeks, the expedition crossed the north Atlantic to the extreme frontline of climate change, then sailed south to explore East Greenland's Blosseville Coast.
Beth's work is inspired by drawing, dance/contact, communication and information systems. Through their creation and installation the work seeks to explore what it means to be an individual in a world where we, and our surroundings, are frequently categorised and classified.
She is currently developing the project Anthem, a trilogy of musical films, which explore, dissect and offer different concepts of 'nation'. It is a truly epic project, expressing contemporary ideas about citizenship and nationality and investigating themes of human migration and borders. The final part of the trilogy was shot during Cape Farewell's 2007 Greenland expedition.
Anthem premieres at the Eden Project on Saturday 14 Nov 2009, opening the Winter Season of the Cape Farewell | Eden Project collaboration. Derbyshire's video trilogy will be accompanied by vocal ensemble, Stile Antico and presented in the Mediterranean Biome. Stunning imagery from the Arctic, Newfoundland and the UK, together with haunting sounds from composer, Ulrike Haage's musical score, will fill the Biome as winter draws in. Find out more ›
"We are on the thirteenth day of our expedition. I have been unable to communicate until now as all has been moving both literally and metaphorically. As we make slow progress south along the barren Greenland coast it seems possible to gather together some thoughts...
The arctic is the most sensitive place on the planet to measure climate change as it is made largely of ice. As we started our voyage out of Svalbard we stopped in a moraine strewn Fjord which should have been covered in ice and snow. The mountains newly exposed by the melt ironically looked like rusting wrecks. The ice-burgs that surround the ship carcasses of their former glory. We endured nine days at sea as the ice had locked and shut Greenland. It shouldn’t be here now, it should be much further north. Our turbulent journey around the ice to get into Greenland in itself a chilling illustration of the advance of climate change..."
Read Beth's full blog post from 4 Oct 2007 ›
Latest News
High Arctic Film Weekend
An exciting programme of feature films, documentaries and rare archive material around the Arctic
Dew Line Concert
Cape Farewell North America makes its public debut on 10 Nov in Toronto - tickets on sale now
SHORTCOURSE / UK
A surrogate art school of sorts, hosting a series of unconventional, rural and urban expeditions, including a series of expeditions this October exploring London's infrastructure of water.
U-n-f-o-l-d Events
Follow the exciting series of lectures and events around U-n-f-o-l-d live or via podcast.
Cape Farewell North America
Cape Farewell launches in North America
Ecocide Trial
Can ecocide be considered a crime against peace? Follow the UK Supreme Court's mock trial on 30 Sept.
U-n-f-o-l-d Exhibition
Continuing it's tour in the US, our exquisite new exhibition U-n-f-o-l-d heads to New York, showing at Parsons The New School for Design until 15 Dec. Find out more ›
David Buckland speaking at SXSW Eco
The South By Southwest Music and Media Conference (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, has extended it's programme to SXSW Eco, focusing on the environment, the economy, and civil society, 4-6 Oct 2011. Find out more ›
Beth Derbyshire 2007
"As I watch the scientists take the temperature of the Gulf Stream with surprising and shocking results I am aware that in the same moment that I am both experiencing the absolute beauty of this region and witnessing it disassemble before my eyes."
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