High Tide Low Tide Exhibition

Rooted in both Miami’s tidal geography and Mette Tommerup’s Scandinavian heritage, Tommerup’s practice draws from a Nordic tradition of reduction – an elemental paring down that foregrounds atmosphere, light, and spatial perception over representation. Ocean, earth, dusk, and the auroral phenomena of the northern lights operate not as imagery but as structural conditions: forces that dissolve boundaries, destabilize orientation, and expand the field of painting beyond the wall. Through these immersive spatial propositions, she positions painting as a phenomenological encounter-an embodied threshold where architecture, landscape, and viewer converge.

High Tide Low Tide unfolds as a cycle of four public interventions inspired by the rhythms of the sea. Rather than representing the ocean, the project follows the movement of the tide itself its continual revealing and concealing of landscapes, memories, and emotional worlds. Across all five interventions, High Tide Low Tide proposes that creativity moves like the sea itself. It arrives in cycles. It uncovers hidden landscapes within us before gently covering them again, reminding us that what disappears is never truly lost. Beneath every shoreline and within every person another world waits for the tide to return.

Written by Mette Tommerup

Exhibition Schedule

Wave 1: Sphere

Saturday, September 12, 2026: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

A performance on Deering Estate’s waterfront lawn that predates the official opening of High Tide Low Tide. A movement artist will engage with the first installation of High Tide Low Tide.

Wave 2: Shelter & Between Tides

Saturday, October 10, 2026: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

The official opening of High Tide Low Tide, led by a movement-based performance and installation activation, also featuring musical accompaniment. Visitors are encouraged to traverse Deering Grounds, immersing themselves in a world of whimsy and calm. Shelter features blue canvases suspended in the trees, canvas covered boulders inspired by the Maine coastline, and a blue shelter that reimagines the Sea King’s palace as a place of refuge, care, and imagination. Between Tides includes blue canvas paintings transform the pathways into temporary tidal channels that visitors walk through and inhabit.

Wave 3: High Tide Low Tide

Saturday, October 24, 2026: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

A performance in the Deering Estate Visitor Center Theater, directed by artist and writer Mette Tommerup, where the baseboard of Tommerup’s artistic practice, the canvas, takes a life of its own. This performance is inspired by The Little Mermaid, exploring emotional currents, transformation, and the unseen worlds revealed through creativity.

Wave 4: King Tide

Sunday, November 8, 2026: 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM

The Finale of High Tide Low Tide, marked by a sunset viewing on the Deering Estate Front Lawn, followed by an open mic night in the Deering Estate Visitor Center Theater. Directed by Mette Tommerup and emceed by Deering Contemporary Curator Amaranta Mattie. This mic night brings the project to its fullest expression through poetry, music, storytelling, and shared voices. Participants are encouraged to sign up to view or share their short stories or poems.

Ticket Details

Tickets are free and available on the Deering Estate Website through Eventbrite RSVP.

Tickets can be acquired ONLINE ONLY

Please view your ticket for more details.