Opens Saturday 16th May
A striking new exhibition by Scottish artist and photographer Christina Riley opens at the Scottish Maritime Museum on Irvine Harbourside this Saturday (16 May).
The Beach Today – A Year of Sea, Sky and Stone celebrates the wonders to be found along Ayrshire’s coastline through photographs and beachcombed items collected during Lockdown, in Spring 2020.
Walking the seven miles of uninterrupted shoreline from Irvine to Troon each day, Christina became attuned to the natural and manmade objects found in the sand and how they changed each day as the tide continuously washed away and replenished them. With each repeated visit, particular colours, patterns or forms stood out.
Finding delight in the endless curiosities of our oceans soon became a daily ritual. Gathering beachcombed treasures and taking photographs of the shoreline turned into Christina’s visual diary of the hazy, uncertain Lockdown days and a celebration of the endless awe and wonder there is to discover beneath our feet.
Christina also founded The Nature Library in one of the Museum’s tenement flats in April 2024. The exhibition will include a specially curated collection of her Library books exploring the exhibition themes of sea, sky and stone.
The Beach Today will also feature cabinets of pebbles, sea glass, bird bones, pottery shards, a clay inkwell and shells, both pearlescent and barnacle-scarred.
Alongside the exhibition, there will be a Meet the Artist event and family drop-in sessions, details of which will be announced soon.
Eva Bukowska, Exhibition & Events Officer at the Scottish Maritime Museum, says:
We’re delighted to collaborate with Christina Riley once again.
“With The Beach Today, she distils the sublimity of what is unfathomable in size – the sea, the sky – to something that fits in the palm of the hand – a stone.
“Capturing the simple and seemingly instinctive delight found in picking up pebbles, she goes beyond to create thoughtful visual narratives that reveal the beauty and fragility of our marine environment. She invites us to slow down and pay attention to the small wonders that might otherwise go unnoticed.
“Above all, The Beach Today exemplifies Christina’s sensitive approach to environmental storytelling and reflects a broader concern with our relationship to the natural world during times of uncertainty and change.”
Christina Riley adds:
As homes across the world closed their doors during Lockdown, many people suddenly found themselves without access to green grass or clean air, and as the crisis heightened, so did my appreciation for what was on my doorstep.
“The Beach Today can be seen simply as an oceanic love letter to colour and pattern – a kind of visual synchronicity that I find endlessly pleasing to the eye – but for me it also highlights the value of places which are sacred to us, often places on our doorstep, and how repeated, ritualistic visits can open up somewhere familiar and make it brand new again, every day.
“I can’t wait to share these beaches and all (or rather, fragments) of what they hold, and hope people enjoy their seaside stroll through the Museum!”
The Beach Today is also part of the Scottish Geology Festival. Hosted by the Scottish Geology Trust, the Festival includes guided walks, talks and fascinating geological exhibitions and marks the Tercentenary of the birth of James Hutton, the ‘Father of Modern Geology”.
Christina completed the first Beach Today project in November 2020, which was then turned into a photobook published by Guillemot Press in 2021. In 2025, her book Looking Down at the Stars: Life Beneath the Waves was published by Saraband Books. Both books will be available at the Scottish Maritime Museum.
The Beach Today will be on show in the Museum’s Linthouse building from 16 May to 2 August.
The Museum is open 10am – 4pm daily and the exhibition is included in General Admission.
The Nature Library on Montgomery Street, Irvine Harbourside, is open by appointment. Email thenaturelib@gmail.com to arrange a visit.
www.scottishmaritimemuseum.org
https://christinariley.co.uk
Issued on behalf of the Scottish Maritime Museum by
Joanna Harrison, Mobile: 07884 187404
