Week 14.

Julia: Museum Mania

I began working towards the 2^nd painting in the series on 30thJanuary making a series of drawings connected with the Hull Municipal Museum that was destroyed by an incendiary bomb on June 24^th 1943. To some extent I owe the inspiration for this painting to my friend and fellow artist Matt Fratson. He recreated Thomas Shepherds (the first curator of the Hull Museums) office. His idea could be described as the foundation of mine because we have common interests in Natural History and the mythology behind the preservation of our natural history.  After many conversations the possibility of a series of paintings connected to our human relationship with animals and the anthropomorphism in which we indulge encouraged me to pursue this theme.

Within this painting I am planning to address similar concerns to those intimated in the first painting of Hull zoological gardens. Looking to the interior of a Natural history museum where  specimens are displayed in an almost theatrical way, I chose to visit Tring Natural History Museum in early January where |I was fortunately able to take a great many photos. Although the painting is based again on a Hull site which is no longer in existence these two paintings are meant to be accessible to anyone who thinks about our connection with animals.