Meet Extraordinary Odyssey artists, Miyuki Kasahara and Calum F Kerr

Two visiting artists taking part in the Extraordinary Odyssey exhibition talk to Jude Montague about work they are creating specially for Hastings/St Leonards for this show on 25-27 July at Electro Studios Project Space.

Miyuki Kasahara

I was born in Japan and my work addresses the impact of humans on the ecosystem. How can we find ways to reconnect with a losing grasp of the natural world and stop poisoning it and ourselves? I examine the environmental factors affecting global issues including that arising from politics and social change, intertwining myths and historical events.

My work is titled ‘Tidal Odyssey’.

Bulverhythe Beach is near Electro Studios. When it is low tide, it reveals a sandy beach, peat clay and logs – remains of a prehistoric forest that was spread throughout the area 4000 years ago. It also reveals outcrops of Cretaceous rocks 135 million years old. In the lowest tide of early spring, it may reveal the wreck of the Amsterdam – a Dutch East India vessel run ashore in 1749.

In recent years, the Amsterdam wreck and the prehistoric forest wood have been attacked by shipworm (Teredo Navalis). This was less known in the English Channel until the end of the last century as the waters were too cold for them to survive. However, global warming has raised the temperature to a point where shipworm can now thrive.

The Amsterdam wreck is one of many lost ships. Since 1850, there are at least 500 lost and sunken historical ships hidden under the waters of the English Channel. Although this number is much greater as the channel has been in use for thousands of years. Shipworms will continue to eat the submerged wood – breaking them down and releasing the nutrients into the sea.

I will invite visitors to take part in my installation Tidal Odyssey by creating their own miniature ship from the sand and peat clay collected from the beach. I will invite them to think about travels over the sea; the people who never make it to land and the journeys taken.

@miyukikasaharaart (Instagram) / www.miyukikasahara.com

Calum F Kerr

My projects often communicate interest in the natural world, interaction is at the core with live work encountered at ancient sites, market stalls, nature reserves, mountains and shorelines. I inhabit characters both human and non-human, including ornithological investigator J D Swann, Brian Guest of the Society for the Preservation of Admirable Rubble (S.P.A.R), Maurice the Dodo, the Ghostly White Whale, Sirius the Super-Intelligent Sheep Dog and The Marsh Dweller.

The title was so evocative when given to me by the curator Caroline Gregory, the journeys that humans and other animals take in their lives, whether it is through forced or voluntary means. Our compassion for and understanding of these movements are one of the most vital aspects of our current time.

I am populating Extraordinary Odyssey with Black Redstart, these are robin-sized migratory birds known to inhabit areas with derelict buildings and rubble. I am also inviting Ornithological Investigator J D Swann to introduce the interactive part of the work during the exhibition.

I made this work because the first pairs of Black Redstart identified as breeding in the UK were in Hastings (1923) and the area has one of the country’s most stable populations. They are particularly found at the rocky undercliffs of Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve. There was a breeding population established in the City of London and other urban centres due to the WW2 Luftwaffe bombing, leading to its name ‘the Bombsite Bird’. I saw these as birds of peace in extreme adversity.

Black Redstart still inhabit old industrial sites, many of these places are under threat of redevelopment, further reducing the birds’ habitat. They are Red listed (birds of concern) in the UK, this scarcity contrasts with an estimated 3-6 million pairs throughout Europe. For the live element visitors during the weekend can write messages of solidarity on certain birds for those currently being bombed, far too many.

@calumfkerrart (Instagram) / vimeo.com/calumfkerr

 

 

Extraordinary Odyssey is a journey into ideas of hybridity and in-between spaces. Curated by Caroline Gregory it is a group show which takes place at Electro Studios Project Space at Seaside Rd, St Leonards-on-Sea TN38 0AL.

After years of researching my Anglo-Indian-French-Celtic heritage, my exploration expanded into a broader inquiry around what it means to exist between recognised racial and cultural categories. This gradually evolved into a more abstract fascination with hybridity as a liminal, in-between space and a place of possibility, tension, and transformation. ‘Extraordinary Odyssey’ invites us to step into the liminal space where boundaries blur and materials and processes meet.’ – CAROLINE GREGORY

Natalia Zagorgska-Thomas @nataliazagorgskathomas
Sinéid Codd @sineidcodd
Julia Maddison @juliamaddison
Jude Montague @montaguearmstrong
Liza Machado @luizamachado2591
Wolfgang Dubieniec @wolfgangdubieniec
Haymanot Tesfa @haymanottesfa
Monika Tobel @tobel.art
Calum F Kerr @calumfkerrart
Miyuki Kasahara @miyukikasaharaart
Marnie Collyer @marniecollyerr
Dylan Coates @dylancoates_
Yumino Seki @yuminaseki
Zeroh @zeroh_studio
Hattie Hambridge @hattiehambridge
James Wilkie @wilkie.xyz
Sarah Sparkes @thesarahsparkes
Eddy Pearson Eddyp12@hotmail.co.uk
Magda Szabert

EXTRAORDINARY ODYSSEY

25-27 JULY 2025

Electro Studios Project Space
Seaside Rd, St Leonards-on-Sea

 

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