Hinterlands, Baltic
Sheree Angela Matthews, The Country Journal of a Blackwoman (Northumberland), 2022.
I have always struggled with meditation. The idea of sitting still for even five minutes appeals to me in theory but not in practice, no matter how much I try. So I have been seeking different grounding experiences elsewhere: on a long walk in a forest, away from the noise of the city; in a poetry collection by one of my most beloved authors; in a song that does something to my insides, as if making my internal organs dance; around my friends who I can be myself with, completely and utterly ungrounded.
Last month, I discovered a new kind of grounding at Hinterlands (20 October 2022 - 30 April 2023), a group exhibition at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, a former flour mill by the River Tyne. Curated by Emma Dean, Niomi Fairweather and Katharine Welsh and featuring the work of twelve artists, Hinterlands explored our multifaceted relationship with the wild landscape, both urban and rural, and spanned different mediums and perspectives. It left me with the feeling I seemed to have been craving the most, not expecting to find it in a gallery.
Read more on Doris Press