Touring Exhibition: Last Night For Ever by Andrea Gregson

Last Night For Ever is a sculpture by artist Andrea Gregson, arriving at Winkworth as the final stop on its tour of three National Trust properties (previously at Leith Hill Place and Nymans). The work explores connections between garden histories past and present, blending the visual illusion of the Renaissance grotto with found objects and motifs gathered from each location over time.

While the exterior of the sculpture remains unchanged, bespoke interiors have been created for each venue to reflect its garden and building histories, geology, and surrounding landscape. Inside, visitors will find a diorama of natural and manufactured forms. As they move around the sculpture, they can adjust roof panels to illuminate the interior and peer through different viewpoints.

At Winkworth—the last venue on the tour—the piece responds to its setting in the boathouse beside Rowe’s Flashe (Lake), focusing on water as a life-giving force for all species in the arboretum. Between the two ends of the sculpture, visitors can glimpse a stone arch framing the entrance to a regenerative shell grotto and a fertile cave with fungi. In an era of accelerating urbanisation, Last Night For Ever reminds us of the vital importance of nature and the fragility of our ecosystems.

This exhibition is supported by research funding from the University for the Creative Arts and the National Trust.