David Cotterrell and Saskia Olde Wolbers
Wet Wipes
Wet Wipes,
The exhibition title Wet Wipes refers to the discovery of a vast reef of wet wipes in the Thames in 2021 through sophisticated sonar technology and further refers to the ironic legacies of our time.
Description: Two artists with independent practices present works united through a convergence of focus on the enigmatic surface and depths of the Thames at Deptford. At Empathy & Risk, installations involving spherical projection, underwater sonar filming, and Pepper’s Ghost imaging offer a study of incompatible perspectives inspired by a shared landscape. This exhibition is presented as part of the DeptfordX Festival 2025.
Included Works:
Saskia Olde Wolbers’ Video 5 mins, Sonar Jetty (NotW), was created by capturing imagery with a sonar fish-finder around the nearby decaying News International Jetty in the Thames in Deptford. The ill-fated News of the World tabloid was distributed from here, and it helped the spread of questionable narratives and practices.
Every technology comes with its own hauntology and the mirrored sonar imagery, conjures up futuristic beings growing out of sonar data stripes. River spirits that could act as guardians to the sites that they were extracted from. Sonar costumes will be on show alongside the video.
David Cotterrell’s installation work, Precession:Estuary, is a multi-component spatial video project which reflects on the relationship between the search for the sublime and the fear of mortality. It presents a bucolic view of the melancholic landscape of the post-industrial Thames and its hinterland estuary. This poignant yet mesmerising view is experienced through three virtual projections of observers defining themselves through their relationship to an unattainable horizon.
Location:
Empathy & Risk, 1 Borthwick Street, London SE8 3GH.
Opening Times:
Exhibition: Saturday 12th-Sunday 13th (1-5pm)
Saturday 19th-Sunday 20th (1-5pm)
Or by appointment
