A new exhibition celebrating rare books and manuscripts, as well as UK national treasures, which celebrate nature through the ages, is to be unveiled in Blackburn.
Hosted at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, the exhibition will display a collection of rare books, manuscripts and ceramics alongside work from major national institutions.
Called ‘The Nature of Gothic: Reflecting the Natural World in Historic and Contemporary Artistic Practice’, the show will explore how artists across faiths, eras and disciplines have turned to nature for symbolic inspiration.
(Image: National Museums Liverpool)
Co-curated by Dr Cynthia Johnston, from the University of London and Anthea Purkis, from Blackburn Museum, the exhibition will feature items from the museum’s collection.
These include items bequeathed by industrialist and rope maker Robert Hart as well as items on loan from the British Library, Manchester Art Gallery, Cambridge University Library and others.
Dr Cynthia Johnston said: “Through Blackburn Museum’s exceptional collections, we are able to explore this shared cultural theme of gothic decorative art using the natural world, present across books, paintings, textiles and ceramics.
“Blackburn’s collections are astonishing in scope and quality. With this exhibition, we place it within the national narrative of collecting, creativity and cross-cultural exchange.
“The loan from the British Library is particularly significant and generous, it includes six medieval manuscripts, including a national treasure, the ‘Bedford Psalter and Hours’.
“This manuscript was made in London in the early 15th century in the workshop of the famous illuminator, Herman Sheere.
“The Bedford Psalter will be matched by a manuscript from the museum’s Hart Collection, which also comes from Sheere’s workshop.”
There will also be two new artist commissions, which will become permanent in the museum’s collection.
One of these is from Jamie Holman, who was inspired by a collection of Tregaskis bindings on loan from the University of Manchester’s John Rylands Library.
Anthea said: “The Nature of Gothic’ is a powerful example of what happens when a local museum thinks nationally and curates with ambition.
“It’s about weaving Blackburn’s story into a much larger cultural fabric.”
Holman is creating new bound editions through collaborations with an artist in Islamabad, Pakistan, echoing the original project’s international engagement.
His work will be joined with Nehal Aamir, who appeared at the National Festival of Making, and his work explores themes of migration and identity through craft.
Her work will draw from Blackburn’s historic ceramics collection and will highlight the visual and technical connections between Islamic decorative traditions and the Arts and Crafts movement.
The exhibition is funded by the Brian Mercer Trust and is part of the Museum’s National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) status, awarded by Arts Council England, part of a wider story of cultural renewal in the town.