The Alchemy Series

Recently I have been hard at work on the sometimes painfully detailed Alchemy series. While I think quite easily I could keep on going with this series and dreaming up more weird and wacky designs and picking even more of my favourite creatures to feature I decided to call a halt on it at 6, as its a nice round number and a number of different eco-systems and creatures have been covered.

Originally the Alchemy series was born out of the twisted take on the idea of being a creator. My idea of some ancient fellow using mysterious magic and methods long lost to modern man to create these curious creatures prevailed throughout the series and often led me to pursue some of the more bizarre creations nature has to offer. Each creature sits inert in the bottle of their birth, surveying their surroundings and place in the world. This mere man, a magician or a deity depending on your perspective, has unleashed these curious creatures upon us through the power of his alchemic practice. Does his ancient practice make him a god? Or are all those whose imagination knows no bounds capable of creation?

The series was a truly mammoth undertaking with over 130 hours work creating the final pieces and countless hours of photoshop work preparing them for print.

The Alchemy series is available to buy as a set of A4 prints, or individually, to check them out Click here!

Plague and Pestillence

Plague and pestilence are aplenty at Eyam museum, so its only natural that my enduring morbid curiosity bore me to Eyam, the 'plague village'.

The Derbyshire village of Eyam was famously infected with the plague in 1665 when plague bearing fleas arrived concealed in a bundle of cloth from London. The village, which quarantined itself from the outside world in an effort to prevent infection, is steeped in the history of the plague and ideals surrounding it, including Danse Macabre.
Outbreaks of plague historically have far reaching social, religious and economical consequences, all of which can be observed at Eyam museum.

Eyam museum details the scientific aspects of the plague, and chronicles its spread across Europe. However the most interesting side of the devastation of the plague is the human story, which is highlighted and focused upon in the Museums exhibits.
The plague provides an insight into how humans typically react to the extreme and sudden devastation of natural disasters, events such as this often bring out the best, and worst of human nature. Religion often becomes important, either as a ray of hope or an explanation for the catastrophe.

The images below detail some of my favourite exhibits of the museum, including morbid, god fearing woodcuts, taxidermy rats showing the differences between the common brown rat and the plague rat, and an iconic symbol which has become synonymous with the the great morality; The Plague Doctor.