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The Flood: “When the sea showed its teeth”

In 1981 the worst floods in living memory hit the Somerset coast. Taking its title from a Weston Mercury editorial feature from this time, The Flood: “When the sea showed its teeth” is a new exhibition and installation co-created and imagined by filmmaker Sally Low, climate activist Ana Salote and producer Paula Birtwistle.

The event has been developed by the SEE MONSTER Think Tank community initiative, funded by Arts Council England, Weston-super-Mare Town Council and North Somerset Council and supported by Culture Weston.

Visitors to ‘The Flood’ will take a journey back in time where the past is brought to life, and the future considered, through this powerful, immersive and thought-provoking installation.  

The installation brings together a new short film, featuring compelling stories from local flood survivors with news archive footage; an informative exhibition display that looks at past, recent and future flood risk in Weston super Mare and a reconstructed, flood-damaged 1980’s sitting room, where visitors can imagine the impact of flooding on individual lives.

As sea levels continue to rise today, the work considers if such an event could happen again. With the newfound science about sea level rises, and the factors that make Weston-super-Mare particularly vulnerable, the exhibition looks at actions we can take to defend against, and reduce future flood risk.

(Main image showing The Flood at Uphill in 1981, courtesy Weston Mercury)

This activity has been developed by the SEE MONSTER Think Tank community initiative.