This autumn Fabrica presents At Home in the Water a new artwork by Dublin-based artist Vanessa Daws. In this immersive film installation visitors are offered a unique insight into the experience of the long-distance swimmer.

15 October - 27 November 2022
Wednesday - Sunday, 12pm - 6pm

Meshing together the swimmer’s inward monologue, the physical sensation of the water and the challenge of the open water endurance swim, the artwork invites us to wonder what strange fascination the sea has for us, why we choose to submerge ourselves in it and why we feel compelled to try to navigate it.

One inspiration for Vanessa Daws' artwork is pioneer swimmer Mercedes Gleitze (1900-1981). The exhibition also tells her fascinating story alongside material about Brighton’s swimming heritage. Born in Brighton in 1900, Mercedes was the first Englishwoman to swim the Channel in 1927 and was a huge celebrity in her day, lauded for her record-breaking endurance swims. With the recent revival of public interest in sea swimming and its health benefits, this has reinvigorated interest in the swimmer and her achievements.

At Home in the Water at Fabrica is one element of an international ongoing project, Swimming a Long Way Together.

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