Screening of Bevis Bowden’s two new films Waterline and Watershed

During the academic year 2023-24 Bevis Bowden was the Visiting Research Fellow in the Creative Arts at Merton and shot a film called Marginalia | song to the river which premiered at the college in October 2024. The film has since screened at museums, galleries and festivals and has recently received great praise at the PhotoMonth Photography Festival in London.

Bevis’ arts practice investigates his interest in the interconnectivity between the natural and the human world and the greater tensions that exist in landscapes affected by climate change. Bevis’ practice has a particular focus on the fragility of the mountain environment.

Hope on top of the world:

In 1991 Bevis Bowden climbed the Eiger as part of Edmund Drummond’s Climb for the World. They raised the United Nations flag on the summit promoting the environment and human rights. They even received Blue Peter badges for their efforts. At the time they observed the lack of snow and ice on the mountain. It was put down to local seasonal variations for that particular year.

Recently Bevis returned to the Alps and to the Eiger. The effects of global warming are now all too clear to see. What was once covered in snow and ice is no longer. The ice is resolutely melting and receding.

Waterline and Watershed explore two different mountainous locations. Each film depicts a journey that has been affected by climate change. Compared to the past, both journeys are markedly contrasting now but for very different reasons.  They are created in collaboration with the Environmental Change Institute

The programme will open with Bevis’ previously made film As if our lives depended on it. In this film a group of fell runners play out a thrilling game that brings centuries-old manhunting adventures into the climate crisis era.

The screening will be followed by a reception the foyer.

Running time: 35 minutes
Format: 4K Cinemascope