One Fathom Deep is an exhibition of work by Chris Relph Smith at the Northlight Gallery, Stromness. It runs from Friday 18 April to Saturday 3 May, Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.

Chris tells us that a fathom is a measurement of depth in the sea, equal to about 6ft.

“This is also my depth when I’m in the water and my draught puts my eye on the horizon line, which divides my mind from my body. One fathom is also the depth at which warm colours are absorbed and leave my dangling feet looking ghostly white. 

I am delighted to be showing at Northlight and mindful of the strong maritime links between my native Yorkshire coast and Orkney. In the 18th and 19th centuries whaling ships from Whitby and Hull called at Stromness to recruit the most skilled whalers in the northern hemisphere, en-route to the high Arctic. We share the same sea and the links between our geographies are stronger and deeper than we might suppose.”