The Atrium monoprint at The Sherborne is 11metres high and shows the rocks at Kimmeridge Bay which were once the floor of a deep, tropical sea rich in pre-historic life. They were formed in the Jurassic period, 155 million years ago.
As part of his exhibition Turning the Tide, artist Gardiner presents a stunning 11-metre-high monoprint at The Sherborne in Sherborne, Dorset. Inspired by ancient mural traditions seen in museums and historical sites—from Etruscan ceramics to Greek temples—this work pays homage to how civilisations have used walls to tell their stories.
The vertical monoprint depicts Kimmeridge Bay’s rock formations, once the floor of a prehistoric sea. These Jurassic layers, formed 155 million years ago, act like pages of a book, each revealing a chapter of Earth’s geological history.
Reading from top to bottom, the print begins with LiDAR contour patterns etched in steel, followed by a topographic copperplate drawing of Kimmeridge Bay featuring Clavell Tower. In the centre is an ochre slab representing the strata, and at the base, a woodblock print of an Asteroceras ammonite—preserved in rock for over 150 million years.
Gardiner’s work transforms the wall into a window through time, rooted in place and history.
