Fancy a trip to the seaside?

Saturday 25 August 2018

Autumn might still be a month away but the summerly weather seems to have packed its bags already. If you find yourself longing for a trip to the seaside, the Maritime Museum has just the thing for you.

A new exhibition that evokes memories of days by the sea opened earlier this summer in the Don Filleul Gallery at the Maritime Museum to showcase archive films and photographs.

At a time of year when the island comes alive with seaside fun, Jersey Heritage wanted to draw a straight line between art and enjoyment by bringing tourists, members, families and art lovers’ memorabilia together in one exhibition to conjure up those lazy days by the sea.

Steven Gumbley, Artist and Designer for the exhibit, told Express: "It is light-hearted and much more colourful than my previous exhibition at Gorey Castle, King Death. It is something fun to enjoy after the museum. It’s all under the beach theme and it’s mix of old and new, with different media. It’s set in the final room of the museum which we divided to create more spaces to explore.

"It has been very good and enjoyable to work on it, we had a great team!"

Pictured: The Seaside Exhibition is "a mix of old and new, with different media" says Steven Steven Gumbley, the artist who designed it.

For the exhibition, one of the rooms has been turned into a "marvellous fairground style cinema façade" designed by filmmaker Jack Lockhart. It aims to honour a significant but almost forgotten pioneer of cinema - William Kennedy Dickson, who lived in Jersey in the 1920s. Dickson invented the Kinetoscope, which later became known as the 'What the butler saw Machine,' and also the world’s first movie studio, working along with great inventor Thomas Edison.

Mr Gumbley explained: "There are lots of images of the coast of Jersey, a projection of the sea and the beach, as well as beach huts and watercolours. There are also films from Amanda Dalton about rockpools and some distorting mirrors. We also have a collection of nice old postcards from 1900 that show Jersey at different stages."

Pictured: The exhibition is set to become a permanent addition at the Museum.

Louise Downie, Curator of Art at Jersey Heritage commented: “This highly visual exhibition is a light-hearted experience appealing to all ages. With something for everyone, the exhibition will feature some wonderful photographs, films and some interactive surprises. It is a fun way for visitors to round-off their Maritime experience.”

If you don't get your Seaside fix this weekend, do not fret. The exhibition is set to become a permanent addition at the Museum.