Experimenta

Mudlarking and Metamorphosis

+ Chris Newby in conversation with Dr. Noni Stacey, cultural historian and Visiting Research Fellow at Technological University Dublin

Seasons past and the textures of place, time and physical materials assume a beguiling interconnectedness in two poetic films about London and the UK.

  • Total running time 130min

Mudlarking

  • Director

    Chris Newby

  • UK 2026. 80min

  • Digital

 

+ Metamorphosis

  • Director

    Chris Newby

  • UK 2023. 17min

  • Digital

Mudlarking, the search for historic artefacts in riverside mud, is the driving metaphor behind Newby’s observational documentary montage film, which prises open space for reflection on the current state of the UK, juxtaposing the chaotic shocks of recent years, from Brexit to Grenfell, with more transitory moments of striking visual poetry. A poetic logic also weaves through his Metamorphosis, which begins with footage of long-distance swimmers before transforming into a meditation on the four elements.