28.0000° N, 45.0000° W (TIDAL ARCHIVE), 2025, 20x10x0.1m
Atlantic Ocean water, Caribbean Sea water, chamomile, clear quartz, corals, coriander seeds, dried grass, eucalyptus, hibiscus, lavender, lemongrass, mint, misc. rocks, moon water, moringa, okra seeds, rainwater, root ginger, rose, sea moss, seashells, slate, sun catcher, sun water, wire & 200 glass jars.
A solo installation on display at Brent Reservoir commissioned by Metroland Cultures as part of the Brent Biennial 2025 with public funding from Arts Council England.
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An activation of 28.0000° N, 45.0000° W (TIDAL ARCHIVE), features a reading drawn from research on pools and flows, alongside a tea offering.
With adapted visual essay, 28.0000° N, 45.0000° W (TIDAL ARCHIVE), published with Ibraaz.
"28.0000° N, 45.0000° W (TIDAL ARCHIVE) presented by Ocean Baulcombe-Toppin is an installation of work exploring transatlantic flows of energy and material. A tide of matter washes ashore as herbal liquidities. Contained and preserved in vessels, this material draws on the knowledge of Afro-spiritual bush tea practices and the teachings of herbalist Karen M. Rose whose practice of plant medicine and community therapy is influenced by African, Caribbean, and Latin American traditions. Held within these vessels are herbs, corals, rocks, gems, and other gathered fragments, drifting between the sacred, the geological, and the incidental.
The installation moves through ideas relating to diasporic identity, spiritual ecology, and speculative systems of care. Hibiscus blooms in Jamaica and is steeped into sorrel. Okra seeds, hidden, once smuggled from West Africa to Barbados. Over an ocean, St Lucian sea moss travels to the UK annually as nourishment and commodity. These botanical carriers move with memory, holding stories of migration, survival, and renewal."