From today (Friday) an audiovisual performance of seaside memories is available online. It’s Where We Go (itswherewego.com) combines the voices of 25 people, recorded in 2015, speaking about their experiences in seaside towns in and around the UK. The performance explores themes of nostalgia and loss, but also of community and hope.

Originally a series of live performances held at Coastival Festival, Herne Bay Festival and Tenby Arts Festival in 2016, artists Tiffany Murphy and Olivia Lamont Bishop adapted the audio to create an online performance. With the seaside inaccessible for many people in the UK due to Covid-19 restrictions, the artists felt this performance would help bring the seaside to people instead. Audiences are encouraged to share their own memories on the website, which will be published on Instagram @itswherewego to create a living archive.

Brighton photographer Ian Howorth @ihoworth provides imagery, shot on film in seaside towns, to accompany the performance and help frame the seaside experiences.

Many voices speak about their happiest memories of childhood and family: “we never went abroad, and we would go on holiday every year”, “when the sun comes out, everyone’s smiling, it’s just a joy”, eating “cockles and mussels and whelks and winkles with my dad” and having “salty hair afterwards, that’s a great feeling that I always miss.”

Some share how the sea represents sadder times: “my happiest memories as a child, there’s not many of them that involve the seaside”, their struggles with grief and depression “this complete lack of emotion, this complete and utter void, and being able to see that in the ocean”, and coping with loneliness “I prefer to be alone at home, close to the coast, than alone in this city”.

A few share their traumatic experiences related to the sea: “four hours of being in the sea, I’m afraid”, “he got swept out to sea by the waves”, “I can still remember my brother’s hand pulling me up”, while others are more whimsical: “then you get covered in sand again so you want to go back into the water”, “I’d always lose one of my favourite trainers” and “I have a fear of crabs biting my legs”.

A number of the participants speak of their spiritual attachment to the sea: “My head was touching the ground, I was talking to God. I can dream of that for years”, how “away from everybody, it gives you that peace and that space”, and how the seaside represents optimism for better times: “the sun rising above the sea will always remain the most hopeful thing for me. Knowing that the night must end and the sun will rise.” Other themes explored include gentrification, migration and youth.

“We recorded these voices in 2015—close enough to remain relevant today, while still reflecting the recognisable distance from recent events,” says co-creator Tiffany Murphy, a performance artist based in Brighton. “It’s Where We Go is a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it’s not about it. At a time when it has been difficult for artists to create work, many people have really needed to engage with art and culture. It’s Where We Go offers the opportunity for people to engage with and feel like they’re a part of something, in an accessible yet intimate way. By centring a range of voices and experiences in this performance, the audience will hopefully find experiences that reflect their own. The structure of the audio aims to reflect this, as well as representing how memories connect, reappear, overlap and blur.”

“We wanted to adapt and open up our 2016 performance to an online audience because we felt it would strike a chord, particularly during these isolated times, with anyone who has a relationship with the seaside,” says co-creator Olivia Lamont Bishop, a theatre-maker based in Bristol. “We hope It’s Where We Go helps people feel less lonely and reconnect with the seaside—these cultural spaces that have been inaccessible for the past year—as well as their own memories. We’re really looking forward to reading what people share with us!”

“This performance really resonated with me, so it was an absolute dream to get involved,” says collaborator Ian Howorth. “As a photographer, whose work deals with issues of cultural identity, my travels often take me to the many charming seaside towns scattered around the south of England. For me, photography serves the purpose of feeling and emotion. Often these are tied to my own memories and experiences, many of which are similar to those recalled by the voices in this project. I hope that these images can add a little to the story and help frame the places talked about for those that haven’t had the pleasure of visiting them.”

It’s Where We Go is now available, accessible online at any time for free, at itswherewego.com. Headphones are recommended. A full transcript and image descriptions are provided for people with hearing and/or sight loss. The audio track is also downloadable for offline listening.

Created by Tiffany Murphy and Olivia Lamont Bishop, with Hannah Fisher, in collaboration with photographer Ian Howorth. Follow on Instagram @itswherewego, listen at itswherewego.com.