A few years ago Steve Turner's eye was drawn out into the Medway river. He began to explore the tiny mud islands, some of which are populated by old forts, which grow and shrink with the tide. As an artist he's literally put the Medway to work in the cause of art - laying blank canvases in the mud and then letting the tides wash their own history onto the blank sheets. For New Year two years ago he even recorded an entire twelve hour aural cycle of the Medway.

Steve spends huge amounts of time out on the mud flats, and the Medway has become like a real living force in his life, giving him friends and adventures. Over the last few years he has spent as much time as he can camping out on the various mud islands, and has peopled his imagination with all the characters who eked out livings of various kinds over the centuries, and made new friends from the few who really know this wild part of Britain only a mile away from modern living.

One night he was camped on one of the tiny islands boasting an old fort, and was visited by some ill-prepared lads, who had rowed over in a cheap plastic inflatable. They'd brought a tent with one pole, and no water just tins of coca-cola. They sheepishly had to ask him for drinking water (they thought there would be a tap), and then for fire. In the middle of the night, he caught them trying to steal the rest of his water, but managed to persuade them that they had to share it. The next day, despite his warnings that the tide was too low, they paddled off, got stuck, and then when the tide did come in were swept quickly down the channel towards the open sea. A power boat reported them, and they were rescued by the coast guard. The next day they came back with more friends because it had been so exciting and they'd had such a good time!