In the artificial world of his cities and towns, he often forgets the true nature of his planet and the long vistas of its history, in which the existence of the race of men has occupied a mere moment of time.

Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us, (1955)

The Sea, Kalmar konstmuseum’s large summer exhibition, revolves around the four nodes: environment, mythology, loss and movement. The participating artists all approach the topic in their own, particular way and take us on a journey through history and up until today, through science and environmental issues to practical questions of travel and transportation and then out into the imagination and humanity’s long fascination for the depths of the ocean.

We all depend on the sea for trade, transportation and food, but it has also played a major roll in our history and for our culture and identity. Nevertheless, the importance of the sea is even greater than that. It affects the weather, the winds and our climate. The sea has a levelling effect to avoid extreme fluctuations in these phenomena and it has also helped to cover up the strain we’ve put on our planet. The marine biologist Rachel Carson was one of those who early on pointed out how everything is interconnected and the devastating human effect on the natural balance of things.

Science shows that the seas are getting warmer and these temperature changes are noticeable further down the depths. The sea can no longer temper humanity’s effect on the climate. The traces we leave behind do not disappear and marine species are now being lost at a rate never before seen. As with all nature around us, we cannot separate ourselves from the sea. Just as we cannot ignore the fact that the climate crisis is inextricably linked to questions about social and economic justice.

Apart from its ecosystems providing us with food, energy and recreation, the sea has always been a source of human creativity, dreams and imagination. Few other topics reoccur as often in art, music and literature. One of the reasons for this is humanity’s need for processing melancholy, loss and grief. The sea steps in as metaphor for different emotional states. Often we literary seek solace by it. Our long relationship with the sea also includes mythology. Sea monsters that have swallowed ships, encounters with mermaids, creation and deluges. In the mythological tales fiction and reality meet humanity’s capacity for imagination when facing that which has no simple explanation. Perhaps we need an updated mythology and common world views more than ever right now. But what would they look like?

I the submarine world, transportation, movement and rhythm is constantly in motion – effects of the tides, of sea temperatures and thousands of other processes and flows. Everything interlinked in intricate patterns developing over thousands of years. Patterns that we only know a fraction of. This exhibition is an attempt at using art, texts and conversation to enter into a dialogue with history as well as our present-day, and explore a small part of this big blue.

Photo: detail from Lotta Törnroth, Jag väntar som ett fyrljus (III) (I wait as a lighthouse (III)), (2013)