The Silver Wave by Michelle Williams Gamaker

The Silver Wave by Michelle Williams Gamaker
Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery

When: 20 October 2022 to 08 October 2023
Where: Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery Queen St, Exeter, EX4 3RX
Time: 10:00 - 17:00
Cost: Free
Suitable for: Any age

The Silver Wave, by critically-acclaimed moving image and performance artist Michelle Williams Gamaker, was commissioned by RAMM in 2020 to celebrate the theme of ‘Untold Stories’.

Inspired by objects from the Arctic region in RAMM’s collection, Gamaker tells the story of Ada Blackjack, an Iñupiat woman from Nome, Alaska, who became the sole survivor of a doomed expedition to Russia’s Wrangel Island, in the Arctic Ocean, between the Chukchi Sea and East Siberian Sea.

The explorers were hoping to claim the island for the British Empire, but as the four men Ada travelled with fell ill and eventually died or disappeared in an attempt to seek help, she was left alone on the island.

Ada’s diary of this ill-fated voyage, are filled with thoughts of her young son Bennet, who she had had to leave behind in a care home. Extracts from this diary provide the dialogue to the film read by Iñupiat poet and writer Carrie Ayagaduk Ojanen, from the Ugiuvamiut tribe.

‘The Silver Wave’ was previously displayed at RAMM in Spring 2021.

For more information about the artist see michellewilliamsgamaker.com

Exhibitions & Projects

  • The Museum is delighted to announce that a collection of Shaldon handmade lace over 100 years old has been acquired

    The Museum is delighted to announce that a collection of Shaldon handmade lace over 100 years old has been acquired

    Teign Heritage Centre Home to Teignmouth and Shaldon Museum

    09 May 2023 to 09 May 2024

    View details

  • John Akomfrah: Arcadia

    John Akomfrah: Arcadia

    The Box, Plymouth

    30 November 2023 to 02 June 2024

    View details

  • ARTIST ROOMS Bill Viola

    ARTIST ROOMS Bill Viola

    Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery

    27 January 2024 to 02 June 2024

    View details

  • Beyond the Page: South Asian Miniature Painting and Britain, 1600 to Now

    Beyond the Page: South Asian Miniature Painting and Britain, 1600 to Now

    The Box, Plymouth

    30 November 2023 to 02 June 2024

    View details

  • Yinka Shonibare CBE RA: End of Empire

    Yinka Shonibare CBE RA: End of Empire

    The Box, Plymouth

    12 October 2023 to 23 June 2024

    View details

  • Devonian Monsters

    Devonian Monsters

    The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon

    27 April 2024 to 06 July 2024

    View details

  • Katy Lee  Going on Taw

    Katy Lee Going on Taw

    The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon

    18 May 2024 to 06 July 2024

    View details

  • What Do You Collect Picturing a collection

    What Do You Collect Picturing a collection

    Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery

    30 January 2024 to 14 July 2024

    View details

  • D Day 80 Exhibition

    D Day 80 Exhibition

    Torquay Museum

    19 March 2024 to 21 September 2024

    View details

  • Are we nearly there yet A History of Transport

    Are we nearly there yet A History of Transport

    Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery

    15 June 2024 to 29 September 2024

    View details

  • The Michelangelo Trail: A Delve Into LGBTQ Histories

    The Michelangelo Trail: A Delve Into LGBTQ Histories

    Torquay Museum

    01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024

    View details

  • Exciting new Museum displays about kite ballooning in 1917, and the Church Rocks Wreck

    Exciting new Museum displays about kite ballooning in 1917, and the Church Rocks Wreck

    Teign Heritage Centre Home to Teignmouth and Shaldon Museum

    04 July 2023 to 31 December 2024

    View details

  • Planet Ocean

    Planet Ocean

    The Box, Plymouth

    16 March 2024 to 23 February 2025

    View details