Bounty: a Case of Preposterous Optimism. An exhibition in Deptford at APT.

In October 1787, HMS Bounty left Deptford Docks on a voyage halfway around the world. The purpose of the journey was to transport breadfruit from Tahiti to the West Indies, where, it was intended,it would become an inexpensive source of starch to feed the slaves working on the sugar plantations. Instead, the voyage ended off the island of Tofua in mutiny, with Bligh and some of the non-mutineers traveling more than 3,618 miles in an overloaded 23-foot open launch with the Bounty itself vanishing, its fate unknown for nearly 20 years.

This site is a record of my voyage to London as part of the exhibition Bounty: a Case of Preposterous Optimism at the APT Gallery (Artists in Perpetuity Trust - www.aptstudios.org) at Deptford to commemorate the 220 anniversary of the sailing on the Bounty and the 200 anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the United Kingdom. The exhibition is from 4 - 28 October 2007

This exhibition will involve thirteen artists plus the involvement music and dance by Trinity College of Music (TCM) (www.tcm.ac.uk) and the Laban Dance Centre (LDC) (www.laban.org). It will include participation by Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of War History at King’s College, London, Guy Lambert, Senior Archivist and Conservation Manager of London’s Theatre Museum, and The Right Hon. Joan Ruddock, MP for Deptford and Lewisham.