Tool/Toy Project.
Hilbre as Ephemeral
Hilbre is a place of movement and transition - a periphery between nations, shaped by tides, defined by flux, and characterised by impermanence.
Our work engages with themes of degrowth, play, domesticity, seasonality, cycles, and sustainability. We see our involvement with Hilbre and BADA as an opportunity to focus particularly on water, time, tidal rhythms - the fleeting and fragile conditions that define the island’s identity. We are drawn to its island and estuarine heritage, to the brackish meeting of fresh and salt water, and to the interplay between the island’s hydrography, geology, archaeology, and maritime history. Hilbre’s vulnerability to rising sea levels and extreme weather events further emphasises the need for a reflective and environmentally sensitive approach and regenerative methodology that situates art in dialogue with science and stewardship.
Hilbre as Anchor
While Hilbre is constantly shaped by change, it also acts as an anchor. A still point within shifting conditions. It can be understood as aperture, subject, and actor - a place through which to study both movement and endurance. As a collective of artists and scientists collating research, the CASS archive will become an evolving atlas, tracing the island’s layered histories - from the Triassic footprints preserved in its rock to the tidal transformations of the present day.
