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Sarah Calmus: Right to Roam

Water is at the centre of Sarah Calmus’s world in Right to Roam, as the Edinburgh based artist follows up on her recent multi-screen intervention, Uisge, viewable on Potterow in Edinburgh, with a full-on immersive experience. Calmus’s exhibition takes its title from the internationally recognised notion of a public right to access public and privately owned land. Focusing on the River Forth, she utilises moving image, sculpture, sound and screenprints to take a deep dive into environmental pollution, climate change and how the natural landscape is threatened.

 

“I wanted to talk about this idea within the lens of water,” Calmus says of an exhibition that has its roots in a residency in Sweden. “I swim in the Forth quite a lot, and I also row, and because of where I live in Newhaven I see the river every morning, so I'm all about the water, so I thought I would hone in on this conversation about the right to roam and really focus on water. We're all made of water, and the tides are rising, but we're not looking after our water necessarily in the right way. I suppose I'm really focusing on the idea of thinking about water as a living body, because we often think about it as a resource, which it is, but it's interesting to think about it through the lens of life itself.”

 

As well as a remount of Uisge, Right to Roam will include recordings of the Forth made by artist Theodore Koterwas played through underfloor speakers that give audiences a physical experience of the underwater environment. 

 

“Essentially the river will be dictating what you see and hear,” says Calmus, “and I'm just highlighting the power of water. I’m not giving it voice. It already has a voice, but I’m translating its energy into the gallery space.” 

 

Sarah Calmus: Right to Roam, Inspace Gallery, Edinburgh, 8-24 May


The List, May 2026

 

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