CREEK DREAMS

Two artists looking at Deptford Creek with both a view of the distant past and a vision of a  far future. 

Victoria Rance has a studio on Deptford Creek, and campaigns for the environment. She  has seen the huge changes over the twenty six years she has been working here on  Deptford Creek which is a precious remnant of a former world, a tidal muddy site. Her  work is about identification with the wildlife here, from the tiny midges, to the Grey  Wagtail which eats them, and from the beautiful Little Egret, to the majestic Grey Heron.  She watches and records their daily lives. As human and natural habitats collide, she  wants to encourage others to feel the intimate connection with nature that we need in  order to ensure the protection of our threatened wildlife. 

Madi Achariya-Baskerville makes work using found objects. Her interest in birds grew out  of concerns regarding plastic pollution of rivers and oceans. Plastic is made from the very  fossil fuels that are driving the climate crisis. Coming across an alarming image of the  contents of a dead seagull’s stomach has inspired her mixed media sculptures, which  involve a kind of ‘alternative taxidermy’, through which a new species is being created  where the birds have swallowed so much plastic that part of their anatomy is visibly  composed of plastic. In view of the energy-intensive processes required to extract and  distill oil, the production of plastics generates enormous amounts of greenhouse gas  emissions. These sculptures are a way of highlighting the alarming effects of plastic  production and pollution on climate change.