Three of Cornwall’s best-loved artists unite for an exhibition which celebrates friendship and sisterhood, against the backdrop of the coast path.
This summer sees artists Sasha Harding, Sophie Harding and Gemma Pearce feature in a group exhibition entitled From Mousehole to Marazion. Running from 24th July to 19th September at The Old Coastguard in Mousehole, it represents a unique opportunity to see a diverse collection of paintings in-situ, against the coastal backdrop they take as their inspiration.
The Old Coastguard is a stylish Cornish hotel perched on a gentle promontory on the edge of the village of Mousehole. Sister establishment to The Gurnard’s Head at Zennor, it’s known far and wide as a comfortably quirky seaside destination, where great food and fine wine jostle for attention with eclectic interiors and impressive sea views.
Directed by Charles and Edmund Inkin, The Old Coastguard and The Gurnard’s Head have always shown the work of local artists. The brothers are now assisted in this endeavour by Gillian Cooper, an artist herself as well as a budding curator, who is helping envisage and plan exhibitions which give a fresh perspective on Cornwall’s vibrant artistic culture.
This summer exhibition sees Gillian curate work by three very different artists, united by their roots and a shared love of a particular stretch of the coast. Sisters Sasha and Sophie Harding, and their childhood friend Gemma Pearce, all grew up near Swanage in Dorset before moving one by one to Cornwall around two decades ago. They followed very different stylistic paths, yet one famous stretch of The South West Coast Path is their recurring subject matter - where it skirts Mount's Bay and connects the harbour of Mousehole to the town of Marazion, and the causeway to St Michael’s Mount itself.
‘It’s a beautiful section of the coast,’ says Sasha, ‘with St Michael’s Mount ever-present and picturesque harbours bustling with life. But for us three, it’s more than pretty fishermen’s cottages and sparkling seas – it’s been the canvas of our lives! From friendships and romances, to bringing up children and experiencing life’s ups and downs, this stretch of the coast is a constant presence in the background, shaping our creative journeys.’
Sasha’s images are a light-hearted and sometimes nostalgic portrayal of coastal life. Full of people and animals, she clearly revels in storytelling, humour and connectivity. ‘In all my work, I aim to strike a balance between the pensive and the silly, the serious and the absurd, injecting quirkiness and humour in careful measures,’ she explains. This distillation of human life is conveyed using a simple collage method and only four colours. She cuts out figures and moves them around, getting the composition just right as if creating a storyboard for an animation.
This idiosyncratic approach led Sasha into the world of publishing, illustrating her adventures with her dog on the coast path in A Brush With The Coast. A second edition of the popular book was released in 2020 with enriched text and several new illustrations. Sasha also put pen to paper for A Brush With Anglesey and more recently the children’s book Plop.
Meanwhile, her friend Gemma’s still life paintings speak more to our inner lives. They are set within interiors containing simple objects imbued with poignancy (pebbles, jugs, flowers, feathers) and windows framing views of the coast – typically harbours – are a recurring motif. ‘I like the contrast between the picturesque and the industrial in those framed seascapes,’ Gemma explains. ‘The two coexist happily in and around Mount's Bay.’
Though Gemma’s painting process is hermetic (she works squirrelled away in her home studio in Mousehole, the family banned from disturbing her) she still finds inspiration in the world around her. She spends a lot of time journeying back and forth between Mousehole and Penzance (‘mum’s taxi service’ as she calls it), via the fishing port of Newlyn. The unfolding vistas of that particular stretch of coastline are an endless source of stimulation, as she puts it: ‘The sea and the sky are never the same from one day to the next. Like generations of artists inspired by Cornwall, I’m always grasping at those threads of shifting light.’
Finally, Sophie is best described as a colourist painter, but her impulse to make beautiful, exuberant work also extends to illustration and textiles. Her vibrant images celebrate the simple joys in life, yet behind this lies an accomplished exploration of colour theory and fundamental form. Her still life images, and her depiction of Cornwall’s tropical gardens and beaches, have won her many admirers.
‘My work strives for simplicity, harmony and balance,’ she says. ‘Colour is such a powerful invoker of feelings that much else can be stripped away. Through careful combination, colours begin to reverberate off the canvas in an almost musical way.’ Working mainly from life, sketches and occasionally photos, she paints moments from her life: a collection of objects in the home, seasonal fruit and flowers, a morning spent on the beach or at a Cornish garden. By simplifying objects and scenes she aims to create feelings of joy, escapism, calm and stillness.
These three very different styles will no doubt provoke conversation around the dining room of The Old Coastguard during the summer. Charles Inkin said: ‘Sasha, Sophie and Gemma’s work is extremely diverse, but will hang together well and look fantastic in the newly refurbished space at The Old Coastguard. The artists are working to summer themes and of course similar content; we’re expecting this show to be an exuberant celebration of our special location on the coast at Mousehole.’
The Old Coastguard, Mousehole
This boutique hotel has 14 individually designed rooms, many of which have outstanding sea views. With a motto of ‘the simple things in life done well’, guests can expect luxurious beds to sink into, Roberts radios and stacks of books for company, plus attention to detail when it comes to the important touches – from coffee to cocktails, blankets to breakfast.
The summer exhibition will take place in the dining room, where scrubbed pine or oak tables play host to food-loving locals and visitors alike. On Saturday 17th September at 10.30am a ‘meet the artists’ session will take place, with Sasha, Gemma and Sophie in attendance to talk about their work.
