KJ BARHAM

"The Death of Julia Thomas"
"In October 2010 a human skull was found in the garden of Sir David Attenborough. The unearthing of the skull concluded the investigation into the 1879 murder of Julia Thomas.  A fascinated Victorian gruesome case, where the missing skull was never traced - until now.  Kate Webster was found guilty of murder, and hanged in July 1879. "

JULIA BICKERSTAFF

'Light Reading'

As a light artist, Julia Bickerstaff's work explores the realms of how light can be used to express emotions, experiences and understanding. Her use of neon glass tubes and found objects invites the spectator to explore the detail; to come close but also to stand at distance to view the work. It is a feast of light and Bickerstaff's glass flame working is beautiful, graceful and pungent with feelings.

The pieces contain great relevance. One been subject specific (Charles Dickens Signature and quotes) and the other having deep connotations with Victorian obsession with electricity and amazing spectacles coupled with the use of literature fit perfectly into this years theme.

JOSS CARTER

'The Skull Kollector'

Joss Carter AKA ‘THE SKULL KOLLECTOR’, delves into the beautifully dark and twisted glorification of death. An unsettling fascination of the beauty within the macabre as he exhibits his personal collection of skulls acquired over the past two years.

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ROBYNE CHAPMAN

'Venice' (Inside the Haunted Tavern)

Velvet curtains were traditionally used in Victorian pubs in either red, green or blue. The red velvet skin of the curtain should look like a continual churning of hands and faces, reaching and fighting for a space beyond that it possesses.

This piece is constructed out of reused material and a lot of patience.

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CILLA CONWAY

'Black Mirror'

Dr John Dee, was a mathematician, astrologer, and magician who worked as Elizabeth I's astrologer. Dee was much interested in optics and optical mirrors, and the one he used (which is now in the British Museum) is highly polished obsidian and was brought back from Mexico by Cortés after his conquest of the Aztecs. In Mexico this mirror would have been used for divination and conjuring up visions by the priests and in Elizabethan London, Edward Kelly (Dr Dee's working partner) used it for the same purpose. It was later referred to as 'the Devil's looking glass'. In Victorian times there was a revival of interest in magic and occult knowledge, inspired particularly through the work of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

SUSAN EYRE

‘Syndrome'

An installation exploring the inner recesses of the mind.

The box is often used as an analogy to describe a closed space in the mind where secrets and fears are stored. In hypnotherapy the box can be suggested as a place to contain and therefore control unwelcome thoughts and overwhelming emotions. Once the box is opened the imagination feeds on what is held in those hidden spaces interweaving fantasy with past memories and future fears to create our own personal terrors.

DENISE FELKIN

'Tsunami Over The River Thames'

During the 1800's, the River Thames was visibly polluted. This was in part due to the waste generated in large quantities by the Industrial Revolution, compounded by an undeveloped sewer system. At times the Thames produced an unbearable stench. The river almost inevitably features in many books set in London. Charles Dickens memorably recorded the filthy state of the river in Our Mutual Friend (1864 -1865). Most of Dickens' other novels include some aspect of the Thames. Oliver Twist finishes in the slums along its south bank.

GREYDER (SAMIRA ENGLUND & CLAES ANDERSSON)

' Excerpts'

The English weekly magazine Household Words edited by Charles Dickens dealt with the social issues of its time. Through the installation Excerpts , Greyder wants to bring these texts from the 1850s to life. How relevant is Dickens in today's society?

GENETIC MOO

'Mutoscope'

Mutoscope is a steam-punk, handle-turning, proto-cinematic device, enabling the user to control a kaleidoscopic vision of biological life. This work, made by Genetic Moo, draws influence from Magic Lantern shows and Victorian phantasmagorical spectacles. Through flickering motion the inanimate is conjured into existence like a ghostly digital spectre.

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EMMELINE HARRIS

'Victorian Children'

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ILUA HAUCK DA SILVA

'Veins of Vanity'
For the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens I have chosen to show ‘Veins of Vanity', an ethereal, ghost-like and sensual piece, cast in optical glass. As a conceptual take on life casting, it offers new signifiers for the transience of life and its luxuries. Aesthetically, it alludes to the Victorian era, as the corset marks invite the viewer to think about the health harms caused by tight lacing, a practice that became popular in the 1840s and 1850s.

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KATY HIGGINS

'Absence'

The work takes its inspiration from Dickens ‘Hard Times'- a novel which focuses on a family bound by rationalism and fact, prohibited from engaging in creative, imaginative or emotional pursuits.

The work exploits a tension between technology and craft, between the rational and the whimsical. Symbols and quotes from the text are fragmented and assembled to create a poetic work that demands close inspection and viewer interaction.

BIRGITTA HOSEA

'Medium'

Inspired by Victorian spirit photographs, this tableau vivant will explore the ghostly nature of film. Taking the role of a techno-medium, Birgitta Hosea will channel messages from dead actresses captured on film and from disembodied radio signals. These messages will be manifested through her multiple video doubles and live projections of automatic writing, ectoplasmic drawing and animation.

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ROBERT IVAN LACKERSTEIN

'Funeral Parlour Mirror'

The funeral parlour mirror has an old faded grandness about it, when you look into the mirror you see your reflection, however when it gets dark the candelabra lights up along with the trapped heart crystal from behind the mirror giving the light a ghostly feel. At the same time the face of the skull wearing a Victorian top hat appears along side your reflection in the mirror.

STEVE KELLY & GEORGE WATSON

Vectoria '

This curious installation utilises the familiar plasma ball technology to evoke the image of a captured ora; an energy field harbored by any individual, caught and revealed by dancing bolts of vivid blue ionised plasma gas. It is a wild mix of old and new technologies that make this piece easy to comprehend and play with, yet quite unlike anything that's ever been seen before. Use the plasma vector display to catch a glimpse of your own unique energy field.

TARYN KOERS

'Victorian Lanterns'

Victorian old gas street lamps, which had to be lit by hand every evening. In 1878 Electric street lighting began in London, replacing the old lanterns however this was only in the wealthy areas . The victorian shape lantern can still be seen today in many old parts of towns and cities and especially outside pubs.

Artist & Designer Taryn Koers is creating Victorian street lamps for the Illumini Event.

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TANYA MEHTA

'The Minds I'

The projects name “The minds ‘I' deals with introspective ideas and problems, spirituality and a search of the unknown and aims to express these qualities visually. Almost all of the photography has been done in museums and castles in and around and therefore the authenticity of the images adds that extra charm.

The visual aesthetic of all the images are Victorian-esque and the themes running through each image individually are also influenced and represented by the era.

LIZ MURFITT

'Ghosts Revisited'

Inspired by the ghost stories of Dickens and others, and the Victorian's love of the supernatural, I will revisit my Ghosts theme, creating “ghosts” from bygone eras.

Modern sightings of Victorian era ghosts, such as the one caught on Google Street View cameras, have also inspired me to add a modern twist to some of my images.

PASCALE POLLIER-GREEN

'The Experiment'

The quick and the dead mortal flesh and bone with benign fleeting soul composed grief-stricken structure.

I doth require your disengaged frame, your relinquished mould before this beautiful perfection mingles moist turf and oak and throwes of graveyard soil.

Many brights have wrought and eyed upon thee and chalked eternal masterworks from thee bequeath therefore your strange intriguing tenements of clay to medic shaman and artist and behold as absolute awaits

DANNY ROBBINS

'Untitled'

My art work is concerned with the way we experience different layers of reality. I aim to emphasis the importance of the imagination and to establish it as another form of reality. I am inspired by the unknown, by dreams and nightmares, the lasting effect of childhood perceptions, ancient folklore and epic myth, the brutality of fairytales and all things ethereal. I am most interested in the way we react with and express the non physical aspects of our existence.

IAN ROBINSON

'Dickens Manuscript'

The paintings of Charles Dickens manuscripts are in celebration of his bicentenary in February 2012.

I listened to many of the audio-books during painting. The original manuscripts take on a life of there own through the proceeding generations in situ in museums. From the vibrant red bindings bound for/by his friend John Forster to the photocopied versions bound for constant use in the National Art Library, there is A manuscript proof on display and stacks of Dicken's published Magazines that reflect the use of periodical publishing trends, how he was in frequent correspondence with editors.

GUDRUN SIGRIDUR HARALDSDOTTIR

'Past-Aways'

Primary concerns within my art work are memories and perceptions, spanning from the personal to the universal and examination of our various ways of coping and making sense of our existence. My work often has an element of history or storytelling. The site specific installations often respond to the history of the site and explore the idea of what “site specific memories”, - ghosts, might still linger in the air. Whereas my smaller pieces tend to examine the more personal memories, emotions and state of mind; - occasionally drawing on my own experiences, but more often concerned with the collective passing down of patterns of behaviour, traditions and folklore.

LUCY SPARROW

'Miss Havishams Dinner Table'

'Miss Havisham is one of Dickens' most enduring characters, references to her appear in popular culture everywhere especially in films such as What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? And Sunset Boulevard's Norma Desmond. Any time there is an unmarried woman of a certain age she is more often than not assumed to be slightly batty like the vindictive Victorian spinster.

Lucy Sparrow has paid homage to one of the most enduring scenes of her decaying bridal feast by recreating the table and everything on it in textiles. Luxurious mohair cobwebs, bejewelled and sequin encrusted food, buds and tableware has turned the most sinister sight of decay into a thing of beauty. Unlike the rotten wedding cake this fabric feast will always be a thing of beauty.'

(Please note Lucy is making new work for this event. The sketch is of what she is creating and below samples of previous food she has created from fabric)

ROSE STAFF

'Memento Mori '

Death is recognised as a universal human experience that effects everyone regardless of race, gender or class. It is a reminder that our time on this planet is only fleeting and is an inevitable event that we cannot escape. Its representation in art also tells a lot about the culture and beliefs of the society that the work was made in. Despite a breakdown of traditional religious notions in contemporary western society there still persists a desire to visualise the end. In this piece I am interested in exploring the concept of death as it becomes a way in which I can confront the understanding of my own mortality.

JOJO TAYLOR

'The Lost and The Found'

For some staunch believers, the idea that our souls live on eternally after our body dies and reincarnates into a new body, is a given.

It is said that a thin veil separates the earth's dimension from that of ‘the other side', our real home, the one where we come from and where we return to after each of our lifetimes on earth has elapsed.

Although we may be temporarily lost to our loved ones on earth, we are found and reunited with the other spirits we have known through many lifetimes.

The Lost and The Found is inspired by this cyclical spiritual journey and the imprints, memories and energy we leave behind, along with our earthly possessions.

TRACEY WARD

'The Ghost of the Brides Chamber'

The ghost of the brides chamber- Charles Dickens
' Now die! I have done with you!'

The verbal torture that Ellen endured at the hand of her evil husband is depicted within her wedding dress. The ropes and chains crushing and suffocating her spirit causing her soul to degenerate and eventually die.

(Please note tracy is creating new works for this event, the image is a representation of the new work she is creating)

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NIK VAUGHN

'The Dead Train'

The Vaults under London Bridge station, was once the waiting room for the dead. The Necropolis Railway, carried coffins to the final destination. Nik Vaughn a professional mural painter, will create a new piece of work, a scene that, takes you back to an average day of death, on The Necropolis Railway.

Nik we also be creating several sculptural props through out
'Dickensian Hauntings'