Pipe up was a two part exhibition commissioned as part of the wider Polluted Leisure project supported by The Bartlett Fund and Newcastle University. The work was shown in Cullercoats Bay underpass gallery from 2021 - 2022 as a collaboration between artists, Hannah Sparkes and Anna Mud.
The Cullercoats Bay underpass gallery showcased 10 etched copper plates depicting local outlet pipes. These pipes are sites and carriers of pollution in Cullercoats Bay and Whitley Bay. The bodily forms responded to the rhythms and flows of the surrounding environment, considering boundaries between land and sea and humanity and nature, through negative space.
Participants were invited to engage in an ecological deep listening experience which harnesses the use of geotagging sound technology, Echoes, to map recordings along the coastal path.
Pipe Up aimed to prompt the public to form closer relationship with the natural surroundings, and develop an empathetic response to the problem of pollution.
