Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Mythic Creatures - Dragons, Unicorns and Mermaids

Upon visiting this exhibition, I have to admit I was sceptical about the what the content would be and whether the overall treatment of such subject matter could be anything else but 'sensationalism'. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. As you'd expect, the show is mostly geared to the younger audiences but also includes some academic discussion about the origins of various myths and creatures.

Originating from American Museum of Natural History, New York, in collaboration with the Australian National Maritime Museum and Field Museum, Chicago, the exhibition shows some fascinating collection items from these institutions as well as other significant international collections. The Feejee mermaid (pictured below) from the Peabody Museum, Harvard University is fascinating addition, one of the highlights, not to be missed in the 100 objects on offer. This freaky skeleton is believed be from the famous Barnum circus hoax of 1841, where the head and torso of a monkey and tail of a fish were sewn together and presented to the public as a grotesque spectacle and 'physical evidence' of Mermaids. The range of cultural objects and imagery helps demonstrate the allure of mythical creatures throughout history and natural specimens add a reasonable range of scientific perspectives.

                Feejee mermaid copyright 2007 Harvard University, Peabody Museum

If you have little people in the family and are at a loose end this April school holidays, it'd be well worth taking them to enjoy the massive replica models and let their imaginations run wild. During my visit I couldn't help appreciate the overwhelming wonder and excitement of all the young visitors. Models of the Kraken, Roc, Dragon, Mermaids and Unicorns certainly invoked a suspension of disbelief to the point where, in one case, a particularly precocious 5 year old was repeatedly stunned into a frozen pose every time the model Dragon roared as he edged over for a friendly pat.

The exhibition is indeed sensational in being able to capture the imagination of the young target audience and I'm sure the big kid in us all will learn something too.

Australian National Maritime Museum
19 December 2009- 23 May 2010
9:30am - 5:00pm daily
FREE entry

2 Murray street
Darling Harbour
Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9298 3777
where is it?

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