The Dark Arts Celebrated in Edinburgh
Anyone with an interest in the forbidden and arcane arts, who find themselves in Edinburgh this autumn, would be well advised to check out the current special exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Entitled Witches and Wicked Bodies, it features a wide selection of art depicting witchcraft, ranging from classic works by established masters like Goya and Dürer, to more contemporary artworks, alongside historical documents on the subject. “From the late 15th century onwards, artists focused on the most sensational aspects of witches’ activities, such as their supposed attendance at sabbaths and their engagement in ‘diabolical pacts’, both of which were thought to have involved lascivious sexual practices,” explained the Gallery’s deputy director Patricia Allerston of the wide range of striking imagery on display, that ranges from the frightening and eerie to the feverishly erotic.
But the show also has a more serious, less sensationalist side, according to the artist Deanna Petherbridge who curated the exhibition, which she believes is a UK first. “There have been some exhibitions looking at witchcraft in Italy and France in the past, but there has been nothing which has specifically looked at how women have been portrayed, like this exhibition does, and certainly nothing like this at all in Britain,” she explains. “In a way, it is really an exhibition on the suppressed history of how women have been represented by artists throughout European history. There have been a huge number of historians looking at witchcraft over the years, but not that many people have looked at how it has been represented by artists. I think it’s an incredibly relevant exhibition, with men’s representation of women.”
Whether you choose to see the exhibition as a thoughtful examination of superstition and misogyny, or just a world-class display of enchanting and spooky paintings, Witches and Wicked Bodies offers a rewarding experience for fans of the macabre and fantastic. It runs until 3rd November, plus there are a number of special events, most notably a free lecture on the 30th of August on ‘Haunted and Fairy-Taken Witches: The Place of the Restless Dead in Scottish Witchtrials’. For further details, check out http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhibitions/witches-wicked-bodies
Meanwhile, we have numerous witchy items in out catalogues here at Alchemy. Anyone wanting to look the part for the exhibition might like to consider our Poison Ivy Charm Bracelet (A94) – guaranteed to bewitch all who behold it!…
The Alchemy Editorial Team
www.AlchemyEngland.com