Ashanti Hare: The Fullness Between Shadows

Harbour House presents The Fullness Between Shadows, a solo exhibition by Plymouth-based artist Ashanti Hare, whose work is deeply connected to their heritage as a descendant of the Windrush Generation. Combining sculpture, movement, and performance, Hare explores memory, ancestry, and the ways people, place, and spirit are connected.

The title of the exhibition comes from Bakongo Cosmology, which understands life as an ongoing cycle between this world and the otherworld—“between the shadows.” The works invite reflection on the fullness of life and the layers of memory, energy, and presence that surround us.

At the heart of the exhibition are large-scale, wearable sculptures, inspired by West African traditions and Caribbean histories, incorporating seasonal local plants, textiles, and wildlife imagery. Alongside these are assemblages made from found and everyday materials, exploring how objects, movement, and textiles can reflect the ways people move between lands, borders, worlds, and social systems.

Community collaboration is central to the project. Hare worked with socially isolated local adults in workshops co-led with movement practitioner Lauren Pomfret, drawing on ritual gestures and carnival traditions. The resulting movements, filmed by Oliver Sutherland, are projected onto one of the sculptures, Sunsum, bringing it to life with the energy and presence of participants.

Visitors can also take part in a free drop-in mask-making activity in the gallery.

This exhibition is supported by the Henry Moore Foundation.