Earthly investigations

EARTH DAY

It can be easy to forget about the glories of our Earth; often it takes a look at the moon on a clear night to remind oneself how incredible and mysterious the planetary system really is. It can also take a day like World Earth Day to remind ourselves of our duty to protect and care for our planet, and all the bountiful experiences and sustenance it provides. Art is a marker of our time on earth, provokes gratitude, and brings us back to the collective experience even at our loneliest times.
Today’s selection is no exception. From Catherine Horton’s textural explorations of the materiality of Earth itself, to Colette LaVette’s ethereally mythological work made entirely from sustainable materials – each work is a quiet bow of thanks in the form of earthly investigation.
And it feels like a good day to introduce you to Mmma Social - a collective we are partnering with whose luxuriously handcrafted baskets and vases created by a collective of women artisans on the border of Ghana and Burkina Faso. Each organic form takes 2-3 weeks to create, each with a uniquely waved and warped form. Each sale also provides a young woman a sustainable sanitary kit that lasts up to 3 years, with all profits from these sales going directly to the Collective (NBA take no commission on these sales).
Elsewhere. Anne Baudequin’s still life depiction “French Rolls and an Earthenware” acts as a gorgeous reminder of simple materials and sustainable production, all seeped in deep teal and glazed clay colouring. Summah Longley’s steel sculpture “From Summer” is further a poetic piece in its evocative yet timeless steel-punctured words: “we are at dinner with the earth and we must leave without burning down the house that fed us”
A perfect mantra to end (or begin) on.
Happy Earth Day!

Kerrera I by Catherine Horton