Séance: Spiritualism, Photography and the Search for Ectoplasm
Shannon Taggart first learned of Spiritualism as a teenager after a medium revealed details about her grandfather’s death that proved to be true. In 2001, she began photographing in the town where that message was received: Lily Dale, New York, USA. Her project soon expanded to include séance rooms around the world in a quest to find and photograph ectoplasm – the elusive substance that is said to be both spiritual and material. In this illustrated presentation, Shannon will share stories and pictures from twenty years of photographing mediumship, explaining how two decades of investigation developed into the book Séance. Spiritualism’s influence on art, technology, and politics, its relationship with celebrity spirits, and the religion’s intrinsic bond with photography will be part of the discussion.
Bio
Shannon Taggart is an artist and author based in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. Her photographs have appeared in printed publications, including TIME, Newsweek, New York Times Magazine, Discover, Wall Street Journal, and Reader’s Digest. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles, the Photographic Resource Center in Boston, the Robert Mann Gallery in New York, and the Gallery of Everything in London. Her first monograph, Séance (Fulgur Press 2019, Atelier Éditions 2022), was named one of TIME Magazine’s ‘Best Photobooks of 2019.’ She is currently working on an illustrated book about The Society for Research on Rapport and Telekinesis (SORRAT), one of the strangest cases in the history of psychical research.
don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day
Shannon Taggart’s Supernatural Mystery Symposium
Selections from the annual event on supernatural mystery and strange cultural history, curated by Shannon Taggart and hosted in Lily Dale, NY, USA—the town home to the world’s largest Spiritualist community.
Dr. Raymond Buckland’s ‘Wide World of Spirit – Steven Intermill and Toni Rotonda – 25 September
Séance: Spiritualism, Photography and the Search for Ectoplasm – Shannon Taggart – 2 October
Publishing the Paranormal – Charles and Penelope Emmons – 04 October
Supernatural Mystery Symposium: Art & The Paranormal – JF Martel – 05 October
Music from Elsewhere – Doug Skinner – 22 October
The Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle – Michael W Homer – 07 November
Ted Serios: The Mind’s Eye, with Emily Hauver – 21 November
