Digital Event Type: Zoom Lecture

The Unnatural History Museum – NMM Cornwall – Viktor Wynd’s Zoom Tour

A recording will be sent to ticketholders who miss the event

Join artist Viktor Wynd for an intimate tour and walk through of his new Cornish Museum. enter inside his mind, a place peopled by Unicorns, Fairies, Giants, Mermaids, myths, legends and dreams. A voyage to the monsters that live in the depths of his subconscious, from a two headed kitten and a two headed teddy bear to a selkie’s foot, a baby’s caul and a magical jar of moles. Viktor Wynd is a ‘pataphysical artist who uses museum objects in the way that other artists use tubes of paint, a writer who presents his novel on hand written museum labels. Founder and proprietor, since 2009, of London’s infamous & eponymous Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & UnNatural History he invites you to come in, enjoy and exit through The Egress.

the evening will finish with a bedtime story – not necessarily suitable for the squeamish

Viktor Wynd’s UnNatural History Museum is at The National Maritime Museum, Falmouth until the end of 20

The Nazis & The Occult – Zoom Lecture – Michael Fitzgerald

This frightening lecture shows how Hitler and Himmler infected the Nazi Party with the dangerous belief that, through occult skills, the ‘master race’ could gain dominion over the world. Every dictatorship requires a justification, either historical or moral, and Hitler rooted his in anti-scientific mumbo-jumbo, Wagnerian legend and Satanism. Michael FitzGerald’s chilling investigation reveals that Hitler consulted Nostradamus before taking key military decisions; that the Thulists, a weird sect which practised human sacrifice and sexual perversions, founded the German Workers Party; and, that black masses were conducted for an elite SS corps at a ‘Black Camelot’ in Wewelsberg. The Nazi’s even had their own occult bureau, the Ahnenerbe, whose research into bizarre cosmological theory, astrology and UFO’s exhausted more funds than America’s atom bomb. Against this powerful armoury of evil was ranked the benevolent magic of the Allies, both at government and individual level. Psychic advisers were employed by both Stalin and Churchill, and the latter even held high-level talks with the occultist Aleister Crowley. White witches, meeting in the New Forest, attempted to thwart ‘Operation Sealion’ (Hitler’s planned invasion) through coven rituals. In the United States, moreover, whilst research into ‘mind control’ was vigorously pursued, the government, in a shadowy affair known as the Philadelphia Experiment, attempted to dematerialize one of their own submarines. Michael FitzGerald goes behind the war’s public events to reveal a hidden agenda of psychic conflict, fought at the highest level

Michael FitzGerald is a historian of the Third Reich. He is also the author of ‘Adolf Hitler: A Portrait’ which won an award for historical biography, and ‘The Making of Modern Streatham’, written jointly with his Janet. In 2008 he was the principal contributor to the Discovery Channel programme, ‘Dark Fellowships: The Vril Society’, a topic which features in the present book. He has also given numerous talks to a variety of organizations over the years. ‘The Nazi Occult War’ was published by Arcturus in 2013 , he is also the auhtor of ‘Hitler’s Secret Weapons,’ ‘Unsolved Mysteries of World War Two’ and ‘Hitler’s War Beneath The Waves’ published by them over the last four years.

Beatrice de Montevideo P.A. To

image By Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-04051A / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5479574

Cornish Folklore and Myth with Alex Langstone on Zoom

Cornwall is an ancient land steeped in legend and myth. From Granite to Sea explores the folklore of the often-overlooked eastern reaches of the rugged Cornish peninsula; at the heart of which lies Bodmin Moor. This beautiful and remote land of granite, which forms the Cornish highlands, inhabits eighty square miles across the central spine of eastern Cornwall. A wild and mysterious place, where folklore permeates every hill, rock and river. Inhabited by piskies, giants and conjurors, who in turn control the old trackways, hilltops and weather.

From Granite to Sea is the first book to comprehensively focus on the folklore of Bodmin Moor and eastern Cornwall, and Alex Langstone will talk about why he wrote the book and will focus his favourite folkloric landscapes and narratives that have emerged from some of the remotest coastal and moorland communities across eastern Cornwall.

The Origins & Rituals of Absinthe: A Virtual Lecture & Tasting with Devil’s Botany

Join Directors of The Last Tuesday Society & Founders of Devil’s Botany, Allison Crawbuck & Rhys Everett, for a virtual lecture as they explore the origins & rituals of absinthe.

Guests are invited to channel the notorious spirit of the Belle Époque. The event will begin with a virtual absinthe tasting of the award-winning Devil’s Botany London Absinthe, and look into how the mysterious spirit has been prepared for centuries.

After everyone’s senses are well lubricated, the duo will explore tales of the absinthe’s tantalising past, from its origins as a cure-all elixir to a delightful aperitif, before eventually enduring a near century-long ban.

General admission includes a ticket to the virtual lecture. Guests are encouraged to have a glass of Devil’s Botany London Absinthe in hand during the event to bring the tales of this exquisite elixir to life.

Tasting sets of Devil’s Botany London Absinthe are available via: www.devilsbotany.com/shop.

Discount codes will be sent with your e-ticket for absinthe tasting sets or full 500ml bottles of Devil’s Botany London Absinthe.

Email [email protected] if you have any questions regarding this event.

Event is suitable for 18+ only.

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About the Hosts

Allison Crawbuck and Rhys Everett have always shared a passion for unearthing curious tales and rendering them in liquid form. The duo are co-owners of The Last Tuesday Society’s cocktail bar in East London, transforming Hackney’s best-kept secret into the city’s favourite absinthe and cocktail haunt. In 2019, it was voted the Best Bar in London at the 7th annual Design My Night Awards by a public vote of over 180,000 Londoners, and in 2020, their absinthe menu was shortlisted for Imbibe’s Specialist List of the Year.

In December 2020, Allison Crawbuck and Rhys Everett launched London’s first Absinthe distillery: Devil’s Botany located in the city’s east end. They are also authors of Spirits of the Otherworld: A Grimoire of Occult Cocktails & Drinking Rituals, published by Prestel/RandomHouse (Sep 2021 | ISBN 9783791387147).

For the Love of Birds: An Introduction to Birdwatching by Mark Cocker on Zoom

Birdwatching is the most popular form of natural history on Earth with millions of devotees in all countries. But why? What is it about birds that compels the human imagination. Lifelong birder and multi-award winning author Mark Cocker gives an introductory tour of the entire avian story. He explores how our love for birds has literally changed the world. Richly illustrated with images, the talk will take you on a tour of Planet Bird and is intended to make a birder of us all.

Speaker: Mark Cocker is a multi-award winning author and naturalist, whose 12 books include Crow Country, Our Place and Claxton. Over the last four decades he has also published more than 1000 essays on nature in national and international newspapers especially the Guardian.

Images courtesy of the speaker

In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States – Tere Arcq

A recording of this lecture will be sent to ticketholders who miss the live performance

Live from Mexico City Teresa Arcq will discuss her LACMA exhibition

In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and The United States

The surrealist movement in art is most often identified with male artists, many of whom objectified women in their paintings, casting them as sexual or symbolic ideals. Conversely, the female artists of the movement delved primarily into their own subconscious and dreams. This lecture features the work of up to 48 Mexican and U.S.-based women artists whose contributions to the surrealist movement span more than four decades and whose work was both influential and radical in its own right.This unique lecture illustrates surrealism as a gateway to self-discovery, especially in North America, where women artists were freed from oppressive European traditions and the vagaries of war. From 1931, the year of Lee Miller’s first surreal photograph, to 1968, when Yayoi Kusama presented her landmark happening ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in New York’s Central Park, the artists and works depicted here are both significant and extraordinary in their explorations of personal and universal truths

Tere Arcq was Chief Curator of the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico and Director of an International Art Investment Fund. As an independent curator, she creates and produces exhibitions in Mexico and abroad. Her most recent is Leonora Carrington Magical Tales at Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City and MARCO in Monterrey. In 2012 she curated In Wonderland. The Adventures of Women Surrealists in Mexico and the United States, an international project presented at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), The National Museum of Fine Arts in Quebec and The Modern Art Museum in Mexico.

Her expertise in the art world includes, teaching; edition of art books and exhibition catalogues; collaboration in the production of documentaries and short films on artists and the design and organization of specialized art tours for collectors. She is a frequent lecturer at museums, institutions and universities worldwide.

Tere Arcq is an Art Historian with a Masters Degree in Museum Studies and Art Management.

Dragons – Professor Ronald Hutton Zoom Lecture

A recording of this lecture will be available to ticket holders for two weeks after the lecture

In the modern Western world, dragons occupy a curious dual space. On the one hand for many people and in many stories, they retain a traditional role as terrifying and predatory monsters which must be slain by heroes. On the other, they are as frequently now represented as friends and allies, faithful steeds or embodiments of benign earth energies. Things get more complex and interesting when it is realised that these two aspects are themselves ancient: in the Old World, western dragons have generally been malevolent, and the dragons of the Far East benevolent. So why is this, and why has the western attitude changed in the modern era? Also, did dragons ever exist, and could they exist, and why did so many humans believe in them if they did not? These are the questions which Ronald Hutton sets out to answer in this talk.

Speaker: Professor Ronald Hutton is a Professor of History at the University of Bristol. He is a leading authority on history of the British Isles in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, on ancient and medieval paganism and magic, and on the global context of witchcraft beliefs.

Solstice Dispensary of Herbal Midsummer Madness- The Apothecary’s Daughter

Make hay (metaphorically speaking!) with The Apothecary’s Daughteras on Zoom as she discusses the meaning and rituals behind the summer solstice, whilst bringing to light a selection of her favourite seasonal plants, and those with particular connection to the magic of midsummer.

SUMMER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION: A dispensary of herbal midsummer madness with The Apothecary’s Daughter

Make hay (metaphorically speaking!) with The Apothecary’s Daughter as she discusses the meaning and rituals behind the summer solstice, whilst bringing to light a selection of her favourite seasonal plants, and those with particular connection to the magic of midsummer.

St John’s Wort, Chamomile, Lavender and Sage are just a handful that will be harvested and celebrated. This is a time to purify and connect with the spiritual fires within, and to gather one’s protective mantle in preparation for the darker times ahead.

Maria Vlotides began The Apothecary’s Daughter after completing a degree in Herbal Medicine at the University of Westminster in 2007. Having initially read PPE at Oxford University during the dark ages, she found herself hanging out with increasing regularity at the University’s Botanical Garden, fascinated by plant beds and the magic held within leaves and buds. She had a clinical practice until 2016 and has since continued to focus on teaching and writing. Her book Pharmapoetica in collaboration with poet and author Chris McCabe was nominated for the Ted Hughes Award in 2013. Visit www.the-apothecarys-daughter.com

The Eloquent Blood: The Goddess Babalon and The Construction of Femininities in Western Esotericism – Dr. Manon Hedenborg White

In the first century CE, a beautiful, lustful woman astride a seven-headed beast appeared in the apocalyptic visions of John of Patmos, chronicled in the biblical Book of Revelation. In 1909, the Whore of Babylon, Mother of Abominations, re-appeared in the Algerian desert before the British occultist Aleister Crowley (1875–1947). For Crowley, she was the goddess Babalon — representing passionate union with all of existence and the sacredness of liberated (and especially feminine) sexuality. Join Manon Hedenborg White for an exploration of Babalon and her meaning in modern occultism as a goddess of ego-death, eroticism, and transgressive femininity. We will follow Babalon from Aleister Crowley’s mysticism and sexual magic, via the ”Babalon Working” of American rocket scientist John Whiteside Parsons and his lover, the artist Marjorie Cameron, through the Left-Hand Path Tantra of the enigmatic British occultist Kenneth Grant, up until the present, when radical occultists are reinterpreting Babalon as a goddess of feminine empowerment and queer liberation.

Manon Hedenborg White holds a PhD in the History of Religions from Uppsala University. She is the author of ”The Eloquent Blood: The Goddess Babalon and the Construction of Femininities in Western Esotericism” (Oxford University Press, 2020).

Beau Dick and the Ceremonial Art of Potlatch with John Cussans

A hereditary chief and master carver from the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw First Nation, Beau Dick was one of the most prominent and influential First Nations artists before his untimely passing in March 2017. His powerful sculptures, firmly rooted in the ceremonial culture of his ancestors, bridge the worlds of contemporary art, the potlatch traditions of the First Peoples of the Pacific North West and environmental activism.

In this talk John Cussans will discuss Beau’s work in relation to gift-giving, title-conferring and theatrical ceremonies that connect several First Nation groups, the legends informing some of his most powerful works and his copper-breaking actions against the Canadian government in 2013.

 

Speaker: John Cussans is an artist, arts educator and writer working across the fields of contemporary art, cultural history and critical art theory. His work explores the legacies of colonialism, psychoanalysis and surrealism in art, cinema and popular culture from ethnographic, science fictional and social psychology perspectives. He has written and taught on Western constructions of the alien, inhuman and primitive and their subversions in art, anti-psychiatry and philosophy, with a specific focus on the cultures of British Columbia and Haiti. He is a member of SMRU (Social Morphologies Research Unit) a collaboration between artists and anthropologists based at University College London.

He has a PhD in Cultural History from the Royal College of Art, an MA in Art History and Theory from the University of Essex and a BA in Graphic Design and Illustration from Northumbria University. He has taught contextual studies, art history and fine art studio practice at many educational institutions including Bergen Academy of Art and Design (Norway), Emily Carr University of Art and Design (Vancouver), Goldsmiths College (London), Central Saint Martins (London), the Royal Academy (London) and the Royal College of Art (London). Between 2015 and 2018 he was the MFA Course Director at the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford.

He is senior lecturer in Fine Art at the University of Worcester where he leads the BA Fine Art and BA Fine Art with Psychology.