The Exchange: Water Bodies, Alice Mahoney

This exhibition runs until the 25th April 2026

Water is everywhere.  It moves through our landscapes as rivers, lakes and oceans but it also permeates the rocks and stones beneath our feet.  It moves by weather, as vapour in the air, sometimes visible as fog or clouds or falling as rain.  As much as we may see it as separate, it also flows through us.  We are 80% water and we constantly breathe it in and expel and excrete it.

Alice Mahoney explores these connection between the water in us and the water around us in her work, Water Bodies.  Alice traced water through the landscape of Camborne from wells, some of which have been lost, rivers, sewage treatment works and filtration ponds.  From this she created two walks and with local historian Jonny Davey.  These walks were open to the public.  Photographers Annemarie Bala and Melanie Stidolph documented the walks and audio was also recorded.  Many of the photos and the audio from the walks is available on Alice's website.

Alice then worked with graphic designer Anje Jager to produce maps for each of the walks.  A leaflet detailing the walks was produced with the maps and some historical information.  It also includes QR codes that take you to a website with the photographs and the audio.  Although all of this information is hosted on Alice's website, I am not too sure how to get to it without the QR codes on the leaflet.

The next step was to work with Rosanna Martin to use clays and mining waste materials from around Camborne to create slips, glazes and colours.  In doing so, she continues to explore connecting us to place.

The exhibition for Water Bodies was on the Ramp at Penzance Exchange, so it was not a large display.  It included some of the photographs taken on the walks as well as samples of the ceramic glazes and colours produced.  There was also a dispenser for the leaflets with more details on the walk.  I must admit, the exhibition served as a teaser and it was the leaflet I was most interested in and I wanted to take it away and read it later.

The information online is charming.  The audio clips are really nice and it sounded like they were interesting and informative walks that people really enjoyed.  The clips and the photos presented provide a charming insight into the groups experience.  The only improvements would be perhaps a summary of some of the key points of the audio clips as it was not always easy to focus and pick them out with background noise and varying volumes.  This is something I personally sometimes find tricky.  I would also like to see this project directly accessible from Alice's website with a menu, not just via the QR codes, although they are so helpful.

I look forward to seeing Alice continue this work!


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