THE GLASSBOOK [Alan Garner, CS Lewis]

A unique artwork commissioned by Cork County Library and Arts Service. Entitled The Glass Book – Foundations of Fantasy, this unusual new work originated by multi-media artist David Bickley in collaboration with a group of illustrators and glass maker Michael Rae is designed to stimulate interest in the world of fantasy literature. The Glass Book is an object designed to engage with young people by using a range of visual and aural media to imaginatively present selections from some of the great work of children’s fantasy literature. It was conceived by visual artist David Bickley and is based on experiments that he has been working on since the early 1980’s that of using different glass lenses to complement the moving image. The Glass Book combines new visual technologies and traditional glassmaking techniques. The concept is based on the idea of a book that writes and animates itself as found in Phantastes the influential imaginative work by the Scottish writer George McDonald (and an idea openly copied by his friend C.S. Lewis in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader). The Glass Book uses extracts of children’s fantasy literature from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s including the Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner, Stig of the Dump by Clive King, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis and Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce and incorporates specially commissioned illustrations from Thorey Mjallhvit, Jim Fee and Cork artists, Julia Palone and Fiona Calnan.