I’m very happy to announce that I am embarking on a new art / research adventure. I will be Resident at the Swedenborg Society in Bloomsbury, London. I’ll be continuing my research on Philip James de Loutherbourg – artist and RA member, stage designer to David Garrick , occultist, friend of Swedenborg and Cagliostro – a little known person who is nevertheless emblematic of the ideas and culture of 18thC London.

I’ll be researching and developing a version of de Loutherbourg’s most astonishing creation the Eidophusikon (seen here above) a very early proto-cinema stage device. But it’s not just stage and theatre history I am interested in. I’m curious about de Loutherbourg’s esoteric influences. How did Emanuel Swedenborg’s thought influence his art (Swedenborg has influenced many artists and writers)? How did de Loutherbourg’s magickal practices shape his work? What about his friendship with Cagliostro? Why was his wife Lucy so important?

I’ll be working together with some of the most fascinating contemporary artists in London and beyond to bring Loutherbourg to life as we figure out: why is Loutherbourg now more important than ever?
Stay tuned for more as I go forward on this fabulous journey! And follow @swedenborghouse to see what’s going on in the space