Between Land and Tide

Between Land and Tide is a public art project by Portsmouth artist Olana Light, and it's taking over several spots across the city this summer. The whole thing is built around large-scale wearable sculpture and live performance, with the city's public spaces acting as the stage. It's inspired by the sea, tidal ecosystems, and Portsmouth's own coastal landscape, so it feels right at home here.

At the heart of it are 'sea-born' female guardians who merge with a monumental starfish sculpture, made from natural and sustainable materials. Through movement, the performers' bodies become part of the landscape, shifting between human and sea-like forms. It's about connection, environmental fragility, and our relationship with the ocean, framed by the climate crisis. Light draws on the tradition of women land artists like Ana Mendieta, whose Tree of Life (1976-79) used her own body in the landscape, and evokes the science-fiction visions of John Wyndham.

The project is a collaboration: Olana Light worked with choreographer Kate Jones, and Light also provided the sound. The performers are Anna Barzotti, Caroline Broadbent / Maud Dean, Jo Rose, Kate Jones, Olana Light, and Ruth Goldwyn. It's supported by Arts Council England through a National Lottery Project Grant and by Portsmouth City Council, with partners including Art Space Portsmouth, Hotwalls Studios, Fratton Together, City Arts Portsmouth, and the Sustainable Conservation Trust.

The performances are spread across the city: 16 August at 12:00 in Victoria Park; 22 August at 12:00 and 14:00 at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard; 6 September at 12:00 at Hotwalls Studios; 19 September at 11:00 on Southsea Beach; and 27 September at 12:00 on Palmerston Road. There are exhibitions too: 15 and 16 August at The Green House in Victoria Park, 5 and 6 September at The Round Tower in Hotwalls Studios, and a longer run from 20 November to 4 December at Art Space Portsmouth. Community workshops ran on 15 August, from 10:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 15:00.