Elizabethan alchemist inspires artwork at Chetham’s Library

Anneké Pettican and the Brass Art collective reworked the drawings of Queen Elizabeth I’s alchemist and magician John Dee

AN INTRIGUING study of hands and gestures by Elizabethan alchemist John Dee have been brought to life in an exhibition featuring works of art by an award-winning artist from the University of Huddersfield.

Anneké Pettican from the University’s School of Art, Design and Architecture is one of three members of the art collective Brass Art and their exhibition entitled Gestured, is a collection of sculptures and video works inspired by alchemy, transformation and symbolic gesture found in the famous alchemist’s book.

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The exhibition, which is currently on display in various spaces throughout Manchester’s Chetham’s Library, began when Brass Art was commissioned by the Library to produce artworks inspired by the atmosphere of the building and its collections.

Anneké Pettican, along with Brass Art members Chara Lewis and Dr Kristin Mojsiewicz, spent time researching the library’s varied collections and said they immediately became drawn to the notes and drawings recorded in Konrad Gesner’s Book of Secret Remedies (Lyon, 1555) by Queen Elizabeth I alchemist and ‘magician’, John Dee.

Included in the margins of this book were various scribbled notes and drawings of tiny hands, gestures and alchemical vessels.  The book also demonstrated how John Dee had become extremely interested in the alchemical process of materials, particularly of glass.

“Sketches of weirdly-shaped vessels you would usually associate with science labs appeared in the notebook,” said Anneké Pettican, “except his were more magical and surprising and so this raised our interest into how glass as a material could be used and how it is formed.” 

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After further investigation the trio found more historical references to hands and gestures hidden away in anatomical reference books and in the original prints of William Hogarth and these were also used in the exhibition.

The hands of all three artists have been replicated at different scales, some small, some larger than life, which the artist said was important as they make something ordinary, strange.  The collective, who often use themselves in their work, created the new pieces using both traditional casting and the University’s 3D printing technologies, with the support of the 3D technician Chris Charlesworth, to create sculptural forms which invite, signal, mimic, pinch and caress.

The artists have worked with both scientific and hot glass blowing specialists, to create new sculptural forms by blowing glass into 3D casts and 3D-printed objects to create some truly unique pieces. 

Sue McLoughlin, Heritage Manager at Chetham’s Library, said: “Brass Art immediately understood the magic and atmosphere of the library space and has responded by producing work with a mysterious, multi-layered quality.

“The artworks are positioned around the library in unexpected locations and seldom-seen spaces, enticing people to explore and discover different parts of the building, which dates back to the 1400s.”

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The whole installation has involved Brass Art working with experts from the University of Huddersfield, including Simon Weldon and Dr Rowan Bailey, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester University and Edinburgh College of Art.

Gestured will be on display at Chethams’s Library until 08 December and is one of 10 contemporary art commissions part of Meeting Point2, a year-long project led by contemporary art agency Arts&Heritage.

Leading UK and international artists have partnered with the 10 museums in Yorkshire, the North West and the North East to produce new artworks inspired by the museums and their collections.

Funded by Arts Council England’s Museum Resilience Fund, Meeting Point2 has led to the presentation of artworks in unexpected places and has supported small and medium scale museums to commission artists, who have all since created a piece of work in response to their venue.