The winner of Below Zero Finnish Art Price 2020, Tuula Närhinen was in residency at Beaconsfield Gallery in South London early this year. Leading up to the Deep Time Deposits exhibition, Närhinen spent time mudlarking at the bottom of the river Thames, collecting items that have found a hiding spot in the Thames’ anaerobic river-mud. In these items, Närhinen focuses on looking into the traces and layers of human history. The project behind the exhibition includes a fascinating twist thanks to its use of 19th century photographic chemistry. She has produced paper with compounds used in early photography, on which she exposes her finds to natural light.

Deep Time Deposits: Tidal Impressions of the River Thames exhibition at Beaconsfield Gallery,. Beaconsfield, 22 Newport Street
Vauxhall, London, SE11 6AY. Open on Fridays 11am–4pm. Please wear a mask!  https://beaconsfield.ltd.uk/about/

Photo: Still from a video by Rosaliina Elgland