Navigable Lines

Abstract

Navigable Lines is an investigation into post-industrial landscapes by artists Fuller, Hicklin and Hill. For the last 5 years the artists have been walking together as part of the wider collaborative project Common Ground. Shared journeys on foot have linked landscapes in the North West, UK and New South Wales, Australia informing individual arts practice offering reimagined perspectives of forgotten post industrial landscapes.
The works presented have been created during walking journeys along the River Mersey as well as new works created specifically in response to walking along inland waterways locations between the Midlands and Liverpool. Geographically these inland waterways connect the artists themselves, Hicklin and Hill both originally from the Midlands and Fuller from the North West, their origins and current interest in post-industrial landscapes linking personal family histories to the historical waterway network.
All three artists bring a unique perspective and approach using drawing and print within their personal practice. Shared conversations during walking informs and underpins ideas of how walking has a direct correlation to our understanding and relationship to landscape and Place.
Navigable Lines reminds us of the historical importance and heritage of inland waterways, which established trade and cultural connections between the UK and the wider world at the beginning of the 19th Century. However, we are also reminded that industrial developments exploited commercial potential, threatened and destroyed many of our regions wetlands. These artworks consider the need to protect rights of way whilst balancing the protection of rare and vulnerable habitats.