SPIRIT OF PLACE: Contemporary Landscape Art of North Norfolk

This research project is considering the work of contemporary artists living and working in North Norfolk who focus their gaze on the uniquely beautiful sea, sky and landscapes of this part of the British Isles.

NEW SITE NOW LIVE! Visit www.SpiritofPlaceNorfolk.org

Spirit of Place is mapping professional artists living and working in North Norfolk who use landscape as the major feature in their work. It is an attempt to understand better the genus of the place, its heart, its core, by an examination of the art work produced by the artists who are rooted in this place.

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION:

I am looking to make contact with professional artists specialising in landscape who give a contemporary twist to this traditional idiom that speaks of the unique feeling and characteristics of this locality.  Please note that you must reside in North Norfolk* and this project does not cover photography.

What special importance does this area have for you and what inspired you to produce work based on the locale?

* For the purposes of Spirit of Place, the parameters of North Norfolk are as defined from Hunstanton in the West to Cromer in the East and inland to Fakenham and Aylsham.  This encompasses parts (but not all) of West Norfolk and North Norfolk District Councils. It does not include the Broads or Norwich-based artists.

Saltmarsh near Stiffkey photographed by the author. Saltmarsh is formed very slowly over thousands of years by deposits of fine sediment in locations where the coast is sheltered by spits and sandbars. This allows the silt to settle to the bottom, trapped in place by plants which prevent it from being washed away. The whole area is dominated by tides which vary in height thus providing a unique range of conditions for flora and fauna to thrive. In Norfolk, parts of the 2,000 hectares of saltmarsh (which stretches from Holme to Salthouse) was formed 6,000 years ago. This coastline is often known as the Saltmarsh Coast and is an internationally important site for many breeding species of birds and over-wintering wildfowl. Most of the saltmarsh in Norfolk is largely unspoilt, having been protected (for the most part) from development and therefore has huge importance as one of the last areas of true wilderness in Britain.