For our weekend adventures we looked at the artwork of Delaine Le Bas before stepping back in time to explore its 12th century predecessor!
The Aberdeen Bestiary is a well known medieval illumanted manuscript which some believe dates back to the 1200's and thanks to the wonders of technology is available to view online in all its meticulously detailed and gilded glory. An important document, the Aberdeen Bestiary is highly regarded in historical circles for the quality of its imagery such as Adam naming the beasts and incredible depictions of unicorns and bears. But we still don't know a great deal about the book and its encrypted secrets.
For example the exact date and provenance of the Aberdeen bestiary is unknown although its resemblance to the Ashmole Bestiary have led many to speculate that both books were produced around the same time period although likely by different scribes. Indeed I'm only reading about the Ashmole book after a quick online search but its interesting to compare the slight differences in the illustrations with the Aberdeen book slightly better in quality. It's noted that books of this nature would often be commissioned by wealthy patrons and I'm struck by visions of the sweatshop style painters studios in London who churn out replicas of whatever the big fad is that month. Funny to think of those same paintings one day being kept in a dark temperature controlled room under lock and key, prized for their historical significance. Regardless the bestiary's are fascinating books, especially when paired with the biblical tales and allegories that accompany the illustrations.
But what is their significance in our modern times and is there still life in these old beasts? Peacocks certainly think so, taking inspiration from the bestiary concept to create a 'New Bestiary' through the commission of 7 new artworks and exhibitions. The most recent addition featured a re-interpretation of The Snake by London based artist Delaine Le Bas. Her work explored the often negative connotations associated to the serpent, the original being the tale of Eve and the apple. Le Bas also featured a series of photo etchings with various self portraits in the guise of Medusa, a character who we often see as the monster but how she came to be is often forgotten. It was all Poseidon's fault for having sex with her in Athena's temple whereupon Athena cursed Medusa turning her lush hair into snakes and giving her a gaze that would turn anyone to stone. I felt incredibly naive reading about Medusa's origins having only ever really engaged with her character on screen through the films of Ray Harryhausen, fascinated by her deadly stare and wondering about haircuts.
Of course there's medusa's beheading which Freud associated with castration while the mythology says Athena attached Medusas head to her defensive robe, using its embedded evil powers to vanquish her enemies. This idea of armour took us back to the opening of the exhibition with Le Bas wearing a custom made dress featuring her fabric snake design, a version of which featured in the show hanging freely from a ceiling beam. Was this a protective armour to ward off Delaine's enemies or perhaps like the snake she wanted to wear her protective camouflage before shedding it like a snakes skin leaving a trace that would become central to her show? And this snake appears to have human legs although a flick through any medieval drawings reveals all manner of wonderfully strange drawings not only of animals but also demons, goblins and the infamous penis tree. So a snake with human legs isn't much of a stretch.
The show reveals a mixture of screen prints & photo etchings created using the facilities and the skills of master printmaker Struan Hamilton. These show the fun approach to each medium but also the printing skills of Le Bas and the confidence in her mark making. The numbers added to her work act as a personal archival system allowing her to link a specific work with a specific time and place. Her Romani gypsy background exposed her to the inequalities faced not only by her community in the societal context but also that of the institution where the handling of important gypsy artefacts is often lacking compared to the handling of items from her European counterparts. The numbers become an act of defiance and a way to take back control as her work continues to flourish in the high art world. This show is her second with 'The House of Le Bas' currently running at London's Whitechapel Gallery so it will be interesting to compare the two if I can make it to London before it ends.
The Snake opening event was well attended and I think for me has produced the most interesting works so far in the New Bestiary series. Previous shows featuring The Donkey by Julio Jara and The Mare by Pedro G. Romero both brought a new dimension and ideas to the bestiary lineage but I didn't have enough time to immerse myself in their concepts and ideas. 2022 really didn't leave me with much brain capacity for art or anything else. As I've slowly been emerging from the fog of the last 12 months I wanted to get back into seeing shows and trying to get my work with Creative Aberdeen back on track. This included organising some Art Club meet ups where we visit exhibitions and experience the work as a group. The start of February took us to Spectra but another trip to Peacocks with my friend Jev inspired a last minute Art Club visit to see The Snake before its last day on the 25th February and with such a wealth of ideas and imagery I decided to host a special bestiary themed workshop straight after.
As I made my way to the Castlegate I was delighted to see a small group already waiting inside the Worm space with more arriving for our 12pm kick off. Peacocks assistant curator Enxhi Mandija kindly spoke to our 20+ group about the work and the narratives that weave and bind The Snake not only to the New Bestiary but also links to the Scottish Bestiary which employed a similar concept, pairing contemporary artists from the print studio with poetry & prose by George McKay Brown. Published as a limited edition book and print portfolio by Paragon Press in 1986, the Scottish Bestiary features artwork by greats like Scottish painter John Bellany & Peter Howson, again bringing new life and meaning to the work of our medieval scribe.
Much like those works the snake prints adorning the Worm walls each had a story to tell, from experimental print techniques to how Le Bas signs her work using the date of its creation. Tales of the photo etching process also reveal the fun attitude and skills of recently departed master printmaker Struan Hamilton. I should add that Struan moved back to New Zealand and hasn't departed in the other sense thankfully. The three prints portray the same image of Le Bas complete with medusa hair but there's an exuberant playfulness to her expression which fades and morphs over the course of the 3 works. Details and mid tones become lost in the shadows before eventually becoming full distorted by paint marks applied directly onto the plate. The transformation mirrors the Medusas tale while the etching plate could also be a link back to her fate, the idea of metal armour once used for protection being transformed into the metal etching plate and the method for these paper creations taking us full circle. As with the medieval bestiary 'The New Bestiary - The Snake' was a rich and multi layered exhibition which provided much food for thought.
With our visit to Peacocks complete the Art Club group made its way to Arkade Studios full of creative inspiration. We had a rough plan to take imagery from the medieval bestiary and use these as prompts for our own creative writings with pens ready to rock at the studio. And everyone got stuck in adding their own unique take to the medieval imagery while others had a go at creating their own images of peacocks and bee's (I'd forgotten to print those images despite telling people I would). These drawings were all fantastic and added a new dimension to the workshop and something for us to explore further at the next bestiary workshop. Once everyone had produced something they liked we headed out into the wilds of Aberdeen to set our beasts free on walls around the town!
So if you happen to be walking down Schoolhill and spot some swine or catch a magnificent lion in the Peacock close we can blame the mead drunk monks who started this venture. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! A great show and a great experience for the Art Club. Although the exhibition has now finished there is a free writing workshop coming up with Yvette Bathgate on Saturday 11th March and the next exhibition 'Dreams & Dangerous Ideas: Two Decades of the Womens Liberation Movement in Aberdeen' opens on Wednesday 8th March. See you there!
