Venue
Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery
Starts
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Ends
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Address
Castle Street Carlisle Cumbria CA3 8TP
Location
North West England

The Cumbrian coast played an important role in the work of LS Lowry who explored the landscape from bases in Whitehaven and Aspatria, where he stayed with Sheila Fell. In 2007, photographer Jem Southam was commissioned by The Lowry in Salford to make his own response to the Cumbrian coastline. Retracing Lowry’s steps, Southam walked the 50 mile stretch of coast from Maryport to Barrow-in-Furness and produced a series of photographs that focus on the relationship between the landscape and manmade remnants of the region’s industrial past – including harbours, plants, chimneys and slag heaps. For sections of his journey, the photographer was joined by the walking poet, Harriet Tarlo; art historian, Nick Alfrey; photography writer, David Chandler; Lowry expert, Lindsay Brooks; ornithologist, Math Southam and geologist, J Hamlyn. Clouds Descending presents Jem Southam’s series of photographs alongside a selection of paintings by LS Lowry and contributions from each of Southam’s fellow walkers. For the exhibition at Tullie House, objects from the museum’s collections of fine art, social history and natural sciences will also be used to illustrate how a single view can hold multiple meanings. Clouds Descending has been organised by The Lowry, Salford with generous support from The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and The University of Plymouth.