What if art could help us see the world differently?
At MOTE, we believe that creativity has the power to spark curiosity, start important conversations, and help us better understand the environments we are part of. Our exhibition programme brings together artists, photographers, makers, researchers, and communities who are exploring the natural world in exciting and thought-provoking ways.
From hidden ecosystems and changing landscapes to sustainability, biodiversity, climate, heritage, and community, our exhibitions encourage visitors to look closer at the world around them and consider the challenges and opportunities shaping our future.
Many of our exhibitions form part of The Shape of Change, MOTE’s ongoing exhibition programme exploring the ways our environments, communities, and landscapes are constantly evolving. Through a diverse range of artistic responses, the programme invites visitors to reflect on change, question assumptions, and imagine more sustainable futures.
What makes MOTE unique is our commitment to combining art and education. Alongside each exhibition, visitors will discover opportunities to learn more through artist talks, workshops, events, and educational resources that explore the science, stories, and ideas behind the work on display.
Whether you’re passionate about art, fascinated by the environment, or simply curious to learn something new, we invite you to explore our exhibitions and become part of the conversation.
Current & Upcoming Exhibitions & Events
The Shape of Change Displays:
Planned Obsolescence
Artists: Tristan Burfield, Hannah Ayres, Michael Ridge & Liza Read Exhibition Dates: 1 October – 31 October 2026
Meet the Artist & Opening Event Thursday 8 October 2026 | 7:30pm – 9:00pm Private View – 8 October The exhibition will come to life during a special evening of live performances and artist talks. Tristan Burfield will present a live Game Boy chiptune performance, exploring the sounds and possibilities of 8-bit technology, alongside an artist talk about his practice and fascination with obsolete digital media. Artist Michael Ridge will also present a noise performance using handmade instruments and devices constructed from recycled materials and discarded objects, followed by an artist talk exploring the ideas behind his work. Planned Obsolescence invites us to look again at the things we have been taught to replace, upgrade and throw away — and to consider whether obsolescence might offer the starting point for something new. Free entry. Optional donations welcome.
Norwich-based polymath and multimedia artist Tristan Burfield brings together fellow environmental artists Hannah Ayres, Michael Ridge and Liza Read for Planned Obsolescence, a group exhibition exploring our complicated relationship with technology, waste, consumption and the objects that surround us.
Bringing together photography, installation, handmade works and interactive sculpture, the exhibition asks what happens to the things we discard — and what they might become when given a second life. The artists share a commitment to reuse, sustainability and questioning our culture of consumption, transforming discarded and obsolete materials into works that are playful, thought-provoking and at times deliberately unpredictable.
Tristan Burfield’s work embraces the visual language of obsolete technology, featuring lo-fi photographic digital prints created using recycled, discarded and outdated devices including a Y2K-era Casio WQV-1 Watch Camera, Sony Mavica Floppy Disc Camera and Game Boy Camera. His work explores the character, warmth and limitations of early digital imagery as an antidote to the industry’s relentless pursuit of high-resolution, 4K perfection.
Alongside the photography, visitors can encounter a holographic extinction-world installation, handmade recycled-paper canvases and interactive junk-noise machines, constructed from discarded and abandoned consumer hardware.
Planned Obsolescence invites us to look again at the things we have been taught to replace, upgrade and throw away — and to consider whether obsolescence might offer the starting point for something new.
Free entry. Optional donations welcome.
Re-Form
Part of The Shape of Change Programme
Artist: Jane Stewart Exhibition Dates: 7 August 2026 – 1 February 2027
Meet the Artist Friday 7th August 2026 | 7:00pm – 9:00pm Join artist Jane Stewart for a special opportunity to explore Re-Form and learn more about the ideas, materials, and processes behind the exhibition. Visitors will have the chance to meet Jane, discuss her work, discover how reclaimed materials have been transformed into artworks, and explore the environmental themes that inspire her creative practice.
About the Exhibition
What if the things we throw away still have stories left to tell?
In Re-Form, environmental artist Jane Stewart transforms discarded materials into unexpected artworks that challenge the way we think about waste, value, and possibility. Plastic packaging, unwanted objects, and overlooked materials are given a second life, becoming sculptures, installations, and creative interventions that blur the line between rubbish and resource.
At first glance, these works may appear playful, colourful, and imaginative.
Look closer, however, and they reveal deeper questions about the world we live in.
How much do we consume?
Where do the things we throw away end up?
And what might happen if we began to see waste not as an ending, but as the start of something new?
Rather than focusing solely on environmental problems, Re-Form invites visitors to imagine alternatives. Through creativity, experimentation, and transformation, Jane’s work explores how positive change can emerge from the materials and systems we often overlook. The exhibition encourages us to rethink our relationship with everyday objects and consider how small shifts in perspective can inspire larger changes in the way we live.
Part of MOTE’s The Shape of Change programme, Re-Form is a celebration of resourcefulness, imagination, and hope. It reminds us that transformation is possible, not only for the materials we discard, but for the ways we think about our environment and our role within it.
By turning waste into wonder, Jane Stewart invites us to see potential where others might see rubbish and to imagine a future shaped not by what we throw away, but by what we choose to create.
About the Artist
“I regularly work alongside scientists and researchers, using artistic practice as a tool to engage wider audiences with environmental research and complex ideas. Through exhibitions, workshops, and community projects, I hope to create opportunities for learning, discussion, and meaningful action.“ I am an environmental and community artist whose work explores consumerism, waste, and the impact they have on our environment.
I often respond directly to the materials I find, incorporating reclaimed and discarded objects into my creative practice. By transforming these materials, I aim to encourage conversations about value, consumption, and the potential hidden within things we might otherwise overlook. Alongside examining environmental challenges, I am also interested in exploring positive futures. Through collaborative projects with community groups, I use creativity as a way of imagining alternative possibilities, encouraging hope, and helping to reduce climate anxiety.“-Jane Stewart
Artist: Zasmina Nedelcevova Exhibition Dates: 1 August 2026 – 1 February 2027
Meet the Artist Friday 14 August 2026 | 3:00pm – 6:00pm Join us for a special afternoon with exhibiting artist Zasmina Nedelcevova. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the exhibition, learn more about the ideas behind the work, and speak directly with the artist about her creative process, inspirations, and environmental interests.
✨ We’re also delighted to share that talented local musician Bella Rose will be performing live at the opening of Beneath the Surface
Join us for an evening of art, music and conversation as you explore Zasmina’s beautiful exhibition, meet the artist behind the work, and enjoy Bella Rose’s incredible live performance.
We can’t wait to welcome you. Make sure you don’t miss this special evening! 🌿🎶
Bella is a young singer-songwriter whose music has been featured on BBC Introducing and is available on Spotify. After spending her early childhood in Dubai, where she performed at the QE2 and Dubai Opera, Bella made her Latitude Festival debut in 2024 and returned in 2025.
She is a member of the Aldeburgh Young Musicians, regularly performing at Snape Maltings, and will move to London this September to continue her music studies.
We are thrilled to have her perform at MOTE!
About the Exhibition
What lies beneath the surface?
Beneath every landscape, river, coastline, and field exists a hidden world of connections. Currents move vast quantities of water across oceans, microscopic organisms transform the soil beneath our feet, and complex networks quietly support the ecosystems we depend upon every day.
In Beneath the Surface, artist Zasmina Nedelcevova invites us to explore these often-overlooked relationships through a collection of works inspired by environmental systems and the natural world.
As part of MOTE’s The Shape of Change programme, the exhibition examines how everything in nature is connected. From the movement of water and nutrients to the impact of human activity on fragile ecosystems, Zasmina’s work encourages visitors to consider the invisible forces that shape the world around us.
Combining artistic imagination with environmental curiosity, the exhibition reveals patterns, structures, and relationships that are rarely seen but constantly at work. Rich layers of colour, texture, and movement draw viewers into landscapes that feel both familiar and unfamiliar, inviting moments of reflection, discovery, and conversation.
Rather than offering simple answers, Beneath the Surface asks us to pause and consider our place within these interconnected systems.
How do our actions affect the environments we inhabit?
What happens when these delicate relationships are disrupted?
And what can we learn from the resilience of nature itself?
At its heart, the exhibition is a celebration of connection, reminding us that even the most distant ecosystems, species, and communities are linked in ways we often fail to recognise until we take the time to look a little closer.
About the Artist
“My name is Zasmina, though most people know me as Jessie. I have Slovak and Bulgarian roots and have been living in the UK for the past 20 years.
I consider myself a creative individual with a wide spectrum of interests, ranging from the environment, foreign affairs, and social issues to travel, art, geography, and animal protection.
Many of these interests influence my creative practice and the subjects I choose to explore through my work. I am particularly interested in the relationships between people, places, and the natural world, and how creativity can help us better understand the challenges facing our environment.
My ultimate goal is to contribute towards positive change and to help create a better future for generations to come.”
On display as part of MOTE’s Permanent Exhibition Programme
Artist: Lucinda Button
Display Dates: September 2026 – TBC
Artist Meet and Greet Date PENDING
About the Artwork
This sea panel is made from hand-dyed reclaimed fabric using the Japanese Shibori technique. Suspended from the ceiling, it rotates gently, evoking the movement of ocean currents while reflecting on the fragile state of our seas and the damage that travels from water back to life on land.
Rooted in Lucinda Button’s wider practice of working with reclaimed materials, hand stitch and marine detritus, the panel explores ecology, climate, memory and sustainability through the visual language of the sea. Its slow, tactile construction contrasts with the accelerating environmental crisis, while its beauty draws viewers into deeper questions of responsibility, consequence and change.
Made between the UK and the coast of Portugal, the wider series connects two coastlines facing the same urgent challenges: increasing marine plastic pollution and declining ocean health. The panel also references jellyfish blooms as indicators of ecological imbalance—a warning that the sea may be nearing a tipping point.
About the Artist
Lucinda Button is a textile artist whose practice explores our relationship with the natural world through recycled and repurposed materials. Working only with reclaimed fabrics, marine plastics and discarded materials, she transforms objects connected to the sea into tactile, hand-stitched works. Quilting, embroidery, couching, dyeing and assemblage evoke ocean currents, rigging, waves and changing states of water.
With a background in broadcast journalism and teaching, Lucinda is a storyteller who brings environmental concerns to wider audiences through her work.
Her practice combines personal memory with ecological awareness, inviting viewers to consider what we consume, what we discard and how our actions shape the fragile environments we share. Through material, process and narrative, she aims to encourage greater understanding, responsibility and positive change.
Noah’s Ark was in Sumatra Rainforest & Cathedral of Trees in the Black Forest
On display as part of MOTE’s Permanent Exhibition Programme
Artist: Judit Prieto
Display Dates: August 2026 – February 2027
Artist Meet and Greet Date PENDING.
We are also thrilled to share that later on in the year Judit Prieto will also be holding a Botanical Art using Eco Watercolours & Inks Workshop, so keep an eye out for more info on that.
About the Artwork
Judit Prieto’s work explores the profound connection between people and the natural world, drawing inspiration from forests, ecosystems, and the quiet beauty of the environment. Through expressive mark-making, layered textures and vibrant colour, her paintings move beyond traditional landscapes to evoke the emotions, rhythms and energy found in nature.
Rather than depicting specific places, her work captures the feeling of being immersed within the natural world, encouraging moments of mindfulness, reflection and reconnection. Each piece celebrates the beauty and resilience of our environment while prompting viewers to consider their own relationship with the landscapes that sustain us.
By blending abstraction with observations of nature, Judit’s work invites us to slow down, appreciate the complexity of the living world, and recognise our shared responsibility to protect it.
About the Artist
“My relationship with nature began in childhood, spending holidays and free time outdoors with my family. Those experiences shaped both my love of the natural world and my passion for drawing and painting.
Over time, my artistic practice evolved from landscape painting towards more expressive and abstract works inspired by forests, ecosystems and the emotional connection we share with nature. Through my paintings and prints, I explore themes of environmental awareness, mindfulness and our place within the natural world.
I hope my work encourages people to pause, reconnect with nature, and reflect on the importance of protecting the landscapes that inspire us.”
On display as part of MOTE’s Rotating Exhibition Programme
Artist: Drew Boroinanu
Display Dates: 26th August – 7 October 2026
Artist Meet & Greet date PENDING
About the Artist
Following a career in teaching, Oxbridge-educated Anglo-Romanian artist Drew Boroianu now devotes his time solely to creative work. His pieces for MOTE advance ironic commentary on the creeping computerisation of the organic by fashioning a digital look without the use of any digital tools. He is currently represented by Limited Edition gallery in Halstead and can also be contacted through ar87132@cantab.net
Luke Psaros
On display as part of MOTE’s Rotating Exhibition Programme
Artist: Luke Psaros
Display Dates: 18 September – 24 October
Artist Meet & Greet date PENDING
Meat
On display as part of MOTE’s Permanent Exhibition Programme
Artist: Sue Gascoyne
Display Dates: 7th August 2026 – 7th February 2027
Meet the Artist: Join us on Saturday 22 August, 6:45pm–10:00pm, for an exciting evening of fashion, music and creativity. Alongside MOTE’s Passion for Fashion runway show, you’ll have the opportunity to meet artist Sue Gascoyne and discover more about the inspiration behind her exhibition, MEAT, and her wider artistic practice.
The evening promises an unforgettable celebration of creativity, with a few exciting surprises along the way. Whether you’re passionate about contemporary art, sustainable fashion, or simply looking for a unique night out, this is an event you won’t want to miss.
About the Exhibition
MEAT is a powerful and sensory installation that invites visitors to question the complex relationship between our bodies, identity, consumption and the natural world. Through richly textured forms, tactile materials and striking sculptural elements, Sue Gascoyne explores what it means to be human and the physicality that connects us all.
Balancing vulnerability with resilience, the installation encourages audiences to look beyond the surface . Using reclaimed and sustainable materials wherever possible, MEAT challenges us to consider not only our relationship with ourselves, but also our responsibility towards the environments we inhabit.
Visitors are invited to slow down, engage their senses and experience an exhibition that is at once thought-provoking, unsettling and deeply human.
About the Artist
Sue Gascoyne is a socially engaged artist whose multidisciplinary practice combines textiles, stitch, painting, mark-making, sculpture and mixed media to explore identity, agency, trauma, safety and human connection.
Her sensory-rich artworks celebrate the hand of the maker, embracing process, texture and materiality while placing sustainability at the heart of her practice. Sue’s work has been widely exhibited throughout London and East Anglia and continues to engage audiences through immersive and thought-provoking installations.
Alongside her artistic practice, Sue is passionate about making art accessible and relevant. Through workshops, co-creation projects and community engagement, she creates welcoming spaces that encourage reflection, conversation and meaningful connection.
“‘Meat’ invites us to think about our relationship to food. Whether we eat meat? If and how we purchase it? Its implications for the environment and ultimately ourselves? Different cuts of meat may be united by all being meat , but our decisions can directly impact upon animal welfare and our environmental footprint.”
On display as part of MOTE’s Rotating Exhibition Programme
Artist: Julie Linton
Display Dates: 7th August 2026 – 18 September 2026
Meet the Artist: Visit us on Thursday 13 August and 29 August from 11:00am-3:00pm; Meet Julie, see her work in person, and find out more about her artistic proccesses and inspirations!
About the Artwork
Contours explores the landscape of our life journey and the many influences that shape how we move through it.
Inspired by the contour lines found on maps, the work reflects the peaks, valleys, and changing directions we encounter throughout life. Two interconnecting forms, created from fused and slumped Bullseye glass, represent the experiences, relationships, and moments that shape our individual paths.
Travelling across these contours is a flame-worked borosilicate glass element, symbolising the complex twists and turns that influence the direction of our journey. Together, these forms explore the connections we make with ourselves, with others, and with the environments through which we travel.
Mounted on natural stone, Contours is grounded by an expression of the Earth beneath our feet, a reminder of the foundations that support us as we navigate an ever-changing world.
Through its combination of glass and natural materials, the work encourages reflection on the interconnected nature of our experiences and the landscapes, both physical and emotional, that shape who we become.
About the Artist
“My glass journey began over a decade ago when I attended a stained glass course at Wilson Marriage Adult Education Centre. Since then, I have explored a range of hot glass techniques including fusing, slumping, and sculptural flame working through workshops, masterclasses, and creative experimentation at home.
I am particularly interested in integrating different glass-working techniques and combining glass with natural materials. Much of my work is inspired by the landscape of our life journey, how we navigate our way through it, and how that journey is shaped by the connections we make along the way—with ourselves, with others, and with the environments we travel through.
Through glass, I seek to explore ideas of movement, connection, resilience, and belonging, creating works that invite reflection on the paths we each take through life.”
On display as part of MOTE’s Rotating Exhibition Programme
Artist: Audrey Bowling
Display Dates: 7th August 2026 – 18 September 2026
Meet the Artist: TBC
About the Artwork
Audrey is exhibiting a three-piece series of abstract mixed-media works that showcase her distinctive approach to layering paint, mark-making and found objects. Rich in texture and subtle detail, each piece reflects her intuitive process and ongoing exploration of material, memory and transformation.
About the Artist
Audrey Bowling is a mixed-media abstract artist whose practice explores texture, materiality and the expressive possibilities of found objects.
Although she studied art to A-level, Audrey initially pursued a career in the Civil Service, believing that a career in fine art was beyond reach without industry connections. Art remained a personal passion throughout this time, but the demands of full-time work meant that creative practice often took a back seat.
After leaving the Civil Service in 2013, Audrey returned to painting and rediscovered both her confidence and her artistic voice. Beginning with acrylic painting, her work gradually evolved from representational subjects towards contemporary abstraction, using close-up studies of flowers as a bridge between the two.
A significant turning point came when she began studying mixed media with Cambridge-based tutor Neil Payne. Encouraged to experiment rather than follow traditional rules, Audrey embraced the freedom of combining multiple materials and processes—something she had previously been discouraged from doing. This approach transformed her practice, allowing instinct, emotion and the physical qualities of materials to guide the creative process.
Today, Audrey’s work is characterised by richly layered surfaces that combine paint, drawing media and carefully collected found objects. Fascinated by overlooked items such as rusty washers, keys, fragments of wire and other discarded materials, she incorporates these objects into her compositions, giving them a renewed purpose while adding balance, history and texture. Through this process, everyday remnants of human activity become integral elements within expressive abstract compositions.
Rather than depicting a specific scene or narrative, Audrey’s work encourages viewers to respond instinctively to the layers, materials and marks within each piece, finding their own meaning through texture, form and the traces of objects that have lived previous lives.
Designer: Ketchup Clothes by Dr Karen Dennis Event Date: 22nd August 2026
Join us at MOTE for Passion for Fashion, an inspiring evening celebrating creativity, sustainability and the incredible potential of clothing that already exists. Led by Dr Karen Dennis of Ketchup Clothes, this event will challenge the way we think about fashion, waste and the value of the garments we wear.
For over 30 years, Karen has been transforming discarded clothing into striking, one-of-a-kind designs, proving that yesterday’s unwanted textiles can become tomorrow’s statement pieces. Through her work, she encourages us to rethink fast fashion and see clothing not as something disposable, but as a resource full of possibility.
The evening will feature a live runway show showcasing Karen’s unique upcycled designs, demonstrating how creativity can breathe new life into materials that might otherwise end up in landfill. Alongside the catwalk, Karen will share the stories behind her work, offering insight into the environmental impact of the fashion industry and how each of us can make more sustainable choices.
Whether you’re passionate about fashion, interested in sustainability, or simply curious to see what can be created from reclaimed materials, this promises to be an inspiring evening that celebrates innovation, craftsmanship and positive environmental change.
Come and discover how fashion can become part of the solution.
Event Highlights
A live upcycled fashion show by Ketchup Clothes.
Meet designer Dr Karen Dennis.
Learn about the environmental impact of the fashion industry.
Discover how creativity, repair and reuse can transform discarded clothing.
Be inspired to rethink the way you buy, wear and value your clothes.
More Than a Fashion Show
The evening won’t just feature the runway.
Throughout the event, you’ll also be able to enjoy live performances from talented local musicians, creating an atmosphere that celebrates creativity in all its forms. We’re currently finalising our line-up, with performers to be announced closer to the event.
We’ll also be celebrating the opening of Sue Gascoyne’s MEAT installation. This bold and thought-provoking exhibition explores our relationship with identity and the environment through Sue’s distinctive artistic practice.
To mark the occasion, Sue will be joining us to celebrate the opening of the installation, and we’ve got a very exciting surprise planned especially for the evening. Whether you’re coming for the fashion, the art, or simply to experience something a little different, this promises to be a memorable celebration of creativity, conversation and community. We can’t wait to welcome you.
It’s all part of MOTE’s mission to support local creatives and bring together fashion, music, art and environmental conversations under one roof. Expect an evening filled with inspiring design, incredible performances and the chance to meet like-minded people who are passionate about creativity and positive change.
Whether you come for the fashion, the music or simply to experience something a little different, we can’t wait to welcome you.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
