Ashanti Hare: The Fullness Between Shadows Exhibition

The Fullness Between Shadows is a solo exhibition by Plymouth-based artist Ashanti Hare, whose work is deeply connected to their heritage as a descendant of the Windrush Generation. Hare combines sculpture, movement, and performance to explore memory, ancestry and the ways people, place, and spirit are connected. Their practice invites viewers to engage with both the physical presence of objects and the energy of the bodies and histories they represent.

At the centre of the exhibition are new sculptural artworks: large-scale, wearable forms that stand freely and hang within the gallery. Inspired by West African traditions of honouring the dead and Caribbean histories, these works incorporate seasonal plants from Kingsbridge, textiles, and representations of wildlife. Together, they reflect the intertwined legacies of Africa, the Caribbean, and Britain; evoking the presence of past generations within a contemporary gallery space.

Alongside these sculptures, Hare presents a series of assemblages, combining antique furniture with different materials and found objects. Drawing on historical methods of African sculpture, which bring together elements that are both mundane and sacred, natural and manufactured, these works create meaningful relationships between objects and spaces. Often used for ritualistic, spiritual or social purposes, assemblage becomes, in Hare’s hands, a way to connect personal and collective histories. Many of the objects are second hand, sourced from charity shops in Kingsbridge or were gathered locally from nature, grounding the work in the textures of everyday life.

Community collaboration is central to Harbour House’s art, gallery, and movement programme. For this project, Hare worked with adults we have supported through our partnership with social prescribing from the local area to create spaces for movement and expression. These workshops, co-led with movement practitioner Lauren Pomfret, drew on ritual-inspired gestures and carnival traditions. The resulting movements, filmed by artist Oliver Sutherland, are projected onto one of the sculptures, Sunsum, infusing it with the collective energy and spirit of the participants.

By combining ancestral symbols and practices with community engagement, The Fullness Between Shadows offers a space for reflection, connection, and celebration.