Artists reflect on environmental crisis

A powerful new exhibition at Thelma Hulbert Gallery (THG) in Honiton is set to showcase contemporary artworks that confront today’s environmental challenges.

Where Are We Now?, opening this August, brings together work from 40 artists across Devon and Cornwall, all members of the Contemporary Art Membership Platform (CAMP) CIC. From sculpture to embroidery, the diverse exhibition explores the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and the entangled relationship between humans and nature.

Two artists focus on lichens—an under-recorded and endangered species. Caroline Collingridge studies lichens through the British Lichen Society and paints species found on ash trees in Devon. She highlights the impact of ash dieback and nitrogen pollution. Octavia Madden uses lichens and mosses to explore environmental fragility, calling them “delicate yet resilient... vital yet often overlooked.”

John Elliott’s work Hermit imagines hermit crabs using plastic waste for shells, blending concerns about artificial life with environmental degradation. Elizabeth Orcutt stages fruit and flowers against plastic waste in her digital work, critiquing our culture of consumption.

Other artists use their practice to question their own impact. Printmaker Viv Spencer, for example, now recycles old prints into paper jugs to reduce waste: “This exhibition made me reflect on what I make and why.”

The exhibition was selected by a judging panel made up of artists, CAMP co-directors, THG curator Gemma Girvan, and members of the gallery’s youth panel.

Frankie Williams, co-director of CAMP, said: “We were thrilled with the range and quality of submissions. Many artists are urgently responding to ecological concerns in ways that are both critical and hopeful.”

Councillor Nick Hookway added: “It’s exciting to see new artists at THG and how their work shines a light on climate issues.”