TWO spectacular art displays are set to open on the shores of Lake Windermere later this month.

Barbara Nicholls’ large-scale watercolours will be showcased in the Windermere Jetty Museum while Dovetailing, an immersive installation inspired by the craft of making stringed musical instruments, can be experienced in the Old Firestation at Windermere Jetty Museum. 

The Barbara Nicholls display is included in the admission price of the museum and opens to the public on Friday, May 27 and runs until Sunday, September 4. Dovetailing opens on Monday 16 May and is free for all visitors to the site. 

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Nicholls’ watercolours, inspired by the presence of water in the landscape, are reflective of the dramatic environment of the Lake District. Monumental in scale, her works emerge from a process of manipulating pigment in large quantities of water.

The pigments behave in a variety of ways; some gather in dark, opaque pools, others are translucent, lapping at the paper to form gentle tidal marks. The results evoke the sight of earth from the air, organic life through a microscope, ancient geological formations or the lineaments of the human body. 

Helen Stalker, Senior Producer at Lakeland Arts, said: "These immersive watercolours have found the perfect space in proximity to beautiful Windermere.

"Barbara’s work brings the awe experienced when engaging with this landscape and allows us to imagine what lies beneath, in the hidden depths of this incredible body of water."

Dovetailing is an immersive installation inspired by luthiery (the making of stringed musical instruments). It is a collaborative project which was developed remotely during lockdown between Sculptor Juliet Gutch and filmmaker Clare Dearnaley working with composer Sally Beamish.