Art project explores healing power of the sea

Natalie Pace and Jilly Roberts installing the exhibition at Felixstowe Museum

The history of the coast as a place of healing and recovery is being explored in a new art project.

Views From Convalescent Hill is based in Felixstowe, which was a popular Victorian holiday destination.

There is a temporary exhibition at the town's museum on Landguard Point, performance pieces and a collection of oral histories.

Natalie Pace, director of Pier Projects Art Agency, said: "It's about what those ideas mean to people today, what does convalescence look like, and what could it look like in the future?"

A view of the spring water kiosk, the beach huts and prom in Felixstowe in 1901 where the Spa Pavilion now is (the pier had not been built yet either)

According to Felixstowe Museum, the town rapidly expanded when the port opened in the 1880s and the railway brought visitors keen to experience a seaside holiday.

However, before the tourism boom, the sea air and a seawater-swim brought people recovering from illness.

Bev Boyce, from the Felixstowe Society, has recorded a conversation about the resort's health history.

She said: "There's a chap called Sir John Fludyers. In 1697, apparently he said 'sea bathing is good for ulcers, scabs, itching, leprosy, pains of the limbs and all inflammation'.

"So sea bathing was something that was really being pushed and promoted, and places like Felixstowe were part of that."

Elian Shipp, general manager of Landguard Fort and Felixstowe Museum, said collaborating with the project would hopefully bring in more visitors

Views From Convalescent Hill uses community-led research to explore the heritage of wellbeing, rest and care in Felixstowe.

Elian Shipp, general manager of Landguard Fort and Felixstowe Museum, said: "It's lovely to display some of our items which have been in storage and show them off to people.

"It's wonderful to work with local collaborators to make something new and have a space to show something, which will hopefully bring more people to the museum."

The exhibition will run 4 July until 3 November.

The project also incorporates a performance called All Ears: A Community Listening Station, by artist Dana Olărescu.

Another creative piece is Rest Easy, from artist Elaine Aston.

She has created a deckchair with cyanotype printed fabric, which will be accompanied by sounds of Felixstowe.

Views From Convalescent Hill was initiated by Pier Projects Art Agency with freelance project manager Laura Davison.

It has been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and East Suffolk District Council, with support from Suffolk Archives, Felixstowe Museum, Suffolk Libraries and Felixstowe Old People's Welfare Association.