Hauser & Wirth Somerset exhibition explores rural connections through art and artifacts

Hauser & Wirth Somerset presented 'The Land We Live In – The Land We Left Behind' from 20 January to 7 May 2018, curated by Adam Sutherland of Grizedale Arts. The exhibition examined shifting relationships to rural life, featuring hundreds of items including works by Samuel Palmer, William Blake, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Beatrix Potter, and Paul McCarthy. It incorporated rustic artifacts, LP covers, postcards, and contemporary installations like Hayatsu Architects' Community Bread Oven (2017) and Fernando García-Dory's Mobile Dairy School (2016). Thematic sections addressed production, social systems, and back-to-the-land ideologies, with historical pieces alongside contemporary ironic takes on nature, such as Marcus Coates's animal-roleplay projects. Nikolaus Geyrhalter's film Our Daily Bread (2005) depicted industrial farming. The show was organized into sections but faced criticism for feeling indiscriminate, with some historical items like farming tools and Women's Institute tea towels lacking context. The venue, a former farm with a locally sourced restaurant, reflected current cultural trends toward rural living, coinciding with a UK population shift to the countryside.