I N T R O

Planet Narnia is a series of seven paintings inspired by the medieval conception of the cosmos, and in particular the seven planets as they were understood before the modern age: the Sun and Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The starting point was C.S. Lewis’s Narnia Chronicles and Michael Ward’s book Planet Narnia, which sets out his discovery that each of the seven Narnia books is shaped by the character of one of these planets. I have been drawn to medievalism since childhood, when I first read the Narnia books, and each painting attempts to capture the distinct atmosphere of its planet: the dark, heavy melancholy of Saturn, for instance, or the green, fertile quality of Venus.

The series was exhibited at Summerhall, Edinburgh, in an exhibition hosted and introduced by Professor Richard Demarco CBE and curated by Fernanda Zei. The programme included a talk by Michael Ward, author of Planet Narnia, followed by an on-stage conversation between Michael Ward, Richard Demarco and myself, alongside readings and music recitals.

P A I N T I N G S

 

E X H I B I T I O N  A N D  T A L K

B L O G  L I N K S

“I was standing today in the dark toolshed. The sun was shining outside and through the crack at the top of the door there came a sunbeam …” Planets 1

This is a continuation of the Planets Series I’m creating this year, which takes inspiration from the planets as understood in Medieval cosmology, and the seven books of Narnia which were each inspired by the seven planets, as discovered by Michael Ward, author of ‘Planet Narnia’. … Planets 2