A new exhibition has opened at the British Library called Animals: Art, Science and Sound. Featuring more than 100 artworks, manuscripts, sound recordings and books, many on display for the first time, it explores how animals have been documented across the world over the last 2,000 years. Running until 28th August 2023, the exhibition reveals how the intersection of science, art and sound has been instrumental in our understanding of the natural world, which continues to evolve today.
From an ancient Greek papyrus detailing the mating habits of dogs to the earliest photographs of Antarctic animals and a recording of the last Kauaʻi ʻōʻō songbird, this is the first major exhibition to explore the different ways in which animals have been written about, visualised and recorded.
Journeying through darkness, water, land and air, visitors will encounter striking artworks, handwritten manuscripts, sound recordings and printed publications that speak to contemporary debates around discovery, knowledge, conservation, climate change and extinction. Each zone also includes a bespoke, atmospheric soundscape created using recordings from the Library’s sound archive.
Highlights include:
- The earliest known illustrated Arabic scientific work documenting the characteristics of animals alongside their medical uses (c. 1225)
- One of the earliest works on the microscopic world, Micrographia(1665), by Robert Hooke, alongside three insect portraits by photographer Levon Biss (2021) recently acquired by the British Library, which use a combination of microscopy and photography to magnify specimens collected by Charles Darwin in 1836 and Alfred Russell Wallace circa 1859
- Leonardo da Vinci’s notes (1500-08) on the impact of wind on a bird in flight, on public display for the first time
- One of the earliest examples of musical notation being used to represent the songs and calls of birds from 1650 by Athanasius Kircher
Cam Sharp Jones, Visual Arts Curator at the British Library, said: “Animals have fascinated people for as long as human records exist and the desire to study and understand other animals has taken many forms, including textual and artistic works. This exhibition is a great opportunity to showcase some of the earliest textual descriptions of animals ever produced, as well as some of the most beautiful, unique and strange records of animals that are cared for by the British Library.”
Cheryl Tipp, Curator of Wildlife and Environmental Sound at the British Library, said: “Sound recording has allowed us to uncover aspects of animal lives that just would not have been possible using textual or visual methods alone. It has been used to reclassify species, locate previously unknown populations and allowed us to eavesdrop on worlds that would otherwise be inaudible to our ears. It is such an emotive medium and I hope visitors will be inspired to explore the Library’s collections, as well as tune in to the sounds of the natural world in their everyday lives.”
There is a season of in-person and online events inspired by the exhibition, such as a Late at the Library with musician, composer and producer Cosmo Sheldrake hosted by musician, author and broadcaster Cerys Matthews and Animal Magic: A Night of Wild Enchantment where five speakers, including wildlife cameraman, ornithologist and Strictly Come Dancing winner Hamza Yassin and birder, environmentalist and diversity activist Mya-Rose Craig each have 15 minutes to tell a story.
A richly illustrated publication by the British Library with interactive QR technology allowing readers to listen to sound recordings and a free trail for families and groups also accompanies the exhibition.
Animals: Art, Science and Sound is complemented by two free displays at the British Library. Animal Rights: From the Margins to the Mainstream (7th May – 9th July 2023) in the Treasures Gallery draws on published, handwritten and ephemeral works from the Library’s collection relating to animal welfare. It features newly acquired material collected by animal rights activist Kim Stallwood who will be in conversation at the Library about the history of animal welfare legislation. Microsculpture (12 May – 20 November 2023) showcases nine portraits by photographer Levon Biss that capture the microscopic form and evolutionary adaptions of insects in striking large-format, high-resolution detail.
Animals: Art, Science and Sound draws on the British Library’s role as home to the UK’s national sound archive, one of the largest collections of sound recordings in the world. With over 6.5 million items of speech, music and wildlife, this includes audio from the advent of recording to the present day, and over 70,000 recordings are freely available online at sounds.bl.uk and in the British Library’s Sound Gallery in St Pancras.
Schools information:
There is a schools programme connected to the exhibition and further information can be found here:
Animals Primary workshops – The British Library (bl.uk)
Animals: Secondary and Further Education visits – The British Library (bl.uk)
On the Origin of Species: Charles Darwin
£7.69
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