From Compton Verney to Countryfile, we're all celebrating #naturewords
The former mansion house and grounds at Compton Verney, Warwickshire is the place to go for a quick lesson in how to lay on an art exhibition. Critic Waldemar Januszczak described this summer’s Op Art project as “a dazzling exhibition that sets the standard for how all shows should be done”. So, apart from the fact that their latest exhibition is all about #naturewords, I had good reason to look forward to my first visit there last night. I was not disappointed.
Jackie Morris’s paintings for The Lost Words, her stunning joint venture with writer Robert Macfarlane, are presented alongside Macfarlane’s acrostic word-spells, as he calls them, each celebrating one of twenty names for everyday wild animals and plants. The story of these lost words has been told on this blog over the last three years.
Jackie Morris’s paintings for The Lost Words, her stunning joint venture with writer Robert Macfarlane, are presented alongside Macfarlane’s acrostic word-spells, as he calls them, each celebrating one of twenty names for everyday wild animals and plants. The story of these lost words has been told on this blog over the last three years.
| Accompanying the exhibition are small, telling touches including Morris’s sketchbooks and Macfarlane’s scribbled early drafts, along with collections of books from their own libraries. Visitors are able to thumb through copies of some of the works of other authors that have inspired them, from Nan Shepherd to Roger Deakin to Sara Maitland. We arrived at dusk for a private view, but will have to return in daylight, enticed by a sign (pictured, right) advertising two ‘Spell Walks’ set in the 120 acres of Capability Brown parkland surrounding the house and offering a journey of words, wildlife and discovery. Created by Christopher Jelley they complement The Lost Words in at least one crucial way – putting technology to use for the enjoyment of the real world, rather than pitting one against the other. |  |
Jackie Morris’s paintings for The Lost Words will be on display at Compton Verney, Warwickshire from 21 Oct to 17 Dec (except Mondays) 11am – 5pm
Countryfile’s edition from Cornwall will be broadcast on 22 October, BBC1 at 18:15, featuring poet Chrissie Gittins's celebration of nature words, and available on iPlayer afterwards. Her Adder, Bluebell, Lobster is published by Otter-Barry Books
The Lost Words was published by Hamish Hamilton on 5 October.
Countryfile’s edition from Cornwall will be broadcast on 22 October, BBC1 at 18:15, featuring poet Chrissie Gittins's celebration of nature words, and available on iPlayer afterwards. Her Adder, Bluebell, Lobster is published by Otter-Barry Books
The Lost Words was published by Hamish Hamilton on 5 October.
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