For 150 years, West­on Park Muse­um has reflect­ed how peo­ple have gath­ered and trea­sured aspects of the world around them. This new exhi­bi­tion, curat­ed by the Heavy Water Col­lec­tive (artists Maud Haya-Baviera, Vic­to­ria Lucas and Joan­na Whit­tle), exam­ines the curi­ous, beau­ti­ful, macabre and mag­i­cal con­nec­tions peo­ple have made to the land through over 400 objects from Sheffield’s eclec­tic muse­um collections.

Humans have long sought to make sense of the nat­ur­al world through art, rit­u­al and the act of col­lect­ing. Sci­ence, indus­try and farm­ing have trans­formed our rela­tion­ship with the land, with nature and cul­ture often in oppo­si­tion. Once a sacred place, this land­scape is now a lucra­tive nat­ur­al resource. Yet our spir­i­tu­al con­nec­tion to the land remains.

Gath­er­ing Land­scapes sees Heavy Water Col­lec­tive explore our endur­ing, fun­da­men­tal con­nec­tions to the land. Bring­ing togeth­er art­work, arte­facts and archival mate­r­i­al, along­side work by the artists them­selves, this play­ful trea­sure-trove invites vis­i­tors to con­sid­er the col­lec­tion, and the his­tor­i­cal sto­ries it tells, in new and sur­pris­ing ways.

Form­ing mul­ti­ple and unex­pect­ed con­nec­tions, the dis­plays ask us to resist the idea of nature as sta­t­ic and sep­a­rate. Instead, our evolv­ing con­nec­tion with the world around us is framed through ideas of rit­u­al and mean­ing, exploita­tion and loss, and ulti­mate­ly, joy, hope and resilience.

Vis­it the Sheffield Muse­ums web­site for fur­ther infor­ma­tion and to organ­ise your visit.

Pro­gramme High­lights include Cura­tor’s Tour, British Sign Lan­guage Tour, HWC Work­shop and Evening Talk.