Specially curated in partnership with Rheged, a brand new exhibition, Lost Spells, Lost Words: Beyond & Before, celebrating over 30 years of the work of Jackie Morris will open in Rheged’s Gallery near Penrith, Cumbria on Friday 21 June. Jackie Morris is a prize-winning, internationally best-selling illustrator, wildlife artist and author, best known for her children’s books, The Lost Words and The Lost Spells – collaborations with Robert Macfarlane. The exhibition will include over 250 original artworks from over 30 of her books, on display together for the very first time.

The exhibition is set in three parts, beginning with a timeline of Jackie’s life and career, including her early works and original sketches from her many books, including The Ice Bear and The White Fox to Tell Me A Dragon and Lord of the Forest. Visitors will be invited to follow Jackie’s path to becoming one of the most recognisable children’s illustrators, sharing her career highlights, like having her books translated into over fourteen languages and being adapted for the stage in the Lost Words BBC Prom at the Royal Albert Hall. The exhibition shines a light on Jackie’s many collaborations, including commissioned illustrations for work by Ted Hughes, Terry Pratchett, Robin Hobb and James Mayhew to name a few.

The second part of the exhibition, created by Warwickshire art gallery, Compton Verney, with Hamish Hamilton and Penguin Books, is dedicated to the phenomenally successful, Lost Words; a unique collaboration between Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, which honours nature’s power to spark imagination. It was motivated by their shared belief that nature was in retreat from our children's stories. Lost Words was voted the most beautiful book of 2016 by UK booksellers and Children's Book of the Year at the 2018 British Book Awards.

From Lost Words, the exhibition moves onto to its sequel Lost Spells: Listening to a Landscape of Voices. This exhibition was developed in association with Penguin Books and commissioned and produced by Northumberland National Park. It showcases original artworks by Jackie Morris alongside poems written by Robert Macfarlane. The Lost Spells was created to invite readers back to what is often lost from sight, by reading aloud spell-poems that conjure the sights and sounds of the natural world.

Jackie Morris commented:

“When I was asked if I might consider exhibiting at Rheged I was excited, interested and intrigued. I’d heard of the centre, but was yet to visit it. When I realised the breadth of the vision the team had in mind for the show, as well as the size of exhibition space I was blown away. Rheged is such a wonderful place, to visit and to show work. The team are AMAZING to work with… I hope the show will help my work reach a new audience, inspire people in their own creativity, and bring peace and healing in these difficult times.”

“This is the first time The Lost Words and Lost Spells by Robert Macfarlane and myself have been shown together… Many of my earlier pieces are kindly on loan from private collections and have never been shown before. Some pieces, like the Red Fox with Macfarlane’s hand written spell, created for The Lost Words Prom at the Albert Hall, are pieces that form bridges between works.”

“I hope the show will bring many people to discover the beauty of the Rheged, a centre of excellence in the arts, and would like to extend a huge thank you to all the team who have worked to bring this show together.”

Gallery Manager, Claire Harrison says:

“Over the last year, we have very much enjoyed working closely with Jackie to create this exhibition. Jackie is extremely talented and prolific in every artform- painting, writing, illustrating and journaling. We have been extremely lucky to bring such a sheer volume of Jackie’s original artwork together, and hope to take visitors on a truly magical journey in our Gallery, that includes everything from dragons and bears to British wildlife. Jackie has been so open, supportive and trusting with us when creating this exhibition and we cannot wait for people to see it”.

The family-friendly exhibition also includes activities such as “My Dragon’s Passport” and an Exhibition Trail and Activity Pack, films showcasing Jackie painting as well as readings from the spell books and soundscapes, artefacts and an installation. Rheged’s Gallery and Design Shop will have many of Jackie’s books and prints available to buy, as well as limited edition jigsaws and handmade jewellery, made exclusively for Rheged.

To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, Rheged will host an intimate and magical evening of music, words and illustrations with Jackie Morris and The Bookshop Band, on the evening of Friday 21 June. Ticket holders will take a private view of the new exhibition with Jackie and conclude with a 1.5 hour immersive concert from Jackie and The Bookshop Band. The concert includes a unique dedication to The Unwinding, a book written and illustrated by Jackie, where the book will be brought to life with live art and music. Tickets are available to book at Rheged.com.

Lost Spells, Lost Words: Beyond & Before is open daily from Friday 21 June to Sunday 1 September, and is £5 to enter, available to book at Rheged.com with under 3s free to enter.