Eastbourne: Disused pool complex hosts art exhibition

Motcombe Pool has been closed since 2020

A currently disused swimming pool complex has become the focus of a week-long art project.

The caretaker's house of Motcombe Pool in Eastbourne, East Sussex, is hosting work by two artists until 25 February, following three weeks of research and workshops.

The event, produced by the Towner Eastbourne gallery, celebrates the town's link to 2023's Turner Prize.

The pool opened in 1905 but closed during the Covid pandemic in 2020.

A community interest group is hoping to re-open the pool, along with a new creative arts and wellbeing hub at the site.

The work of Australian artist Renee Vaughan Sutherland will focus on the Bourne, the freshwater stream which was the source of Motcombe Pool's water, and is based on the memories of local people.

She has used prints, films, water from the stream, and materials from Motcombe Gardens park, which is opposite the pool.

Renee Vaughan Sutherland's work has focused on the Bourne stream

Florence Wright, another artist, has used the caretaker's house itself as her subject, along with memories from local people.

An exhibition of works by the four artists shortlisted for 2023's Turner Prize opened at the Towner Eastbourne in September.

The exhibition at Motcombe Pool runs until 25 February.

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