New exhibition: All the fires come alive

Media Release
9 June 2026

A costumed woman in a skin-tight, full-body yellow suit, wearing a long purple wig with purple flowers at the top. The person stands in a field next to a boulder. The background are dense trees stretching towards a mountain. The green in the image has been colour shifted to brights pink. — Lou Conboy, *The view from Paradise*, 2019

An open antique book with worn, yellowed pages sits against a dark background, its pages slightly fanned. The visible spread is titled “The fourth book. The Characters of evil Spirits,” showing rows of small labelled diagrams and symbols—lines, shapes, letters, and simple illustrations like flame, wind, water, and rain. — Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, *Three Books of Occult Philosophy*, English translation reprinted 1651

A person sits against a dark, star-filled background while draped in a sheer, shimmering veil covered in multicolored glitter. The translucent fabric falls over the head and body, partially obscuring a patterned outfit beneath. The veil and garment blend visually with the surrounding stars, creating a layered, cosmic effect where the figure appears merged with a night sky. — Atong Atem, *A Veil of False Crosses*, 2026

On Thursday 11 June the State Library and Archives of Tasmania launches a new exhibition, All the fires come alive as part of Dark Mofo.

Bringing together contemporary art, words and performance, the exhibition explores magic, ritual and hidden knowledge using rare collection items from the State Library and Archives of Tasmania.

The exhibition is inspired by the Three Books of Occult Philosophy which was written by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and first published in the 1530s.

Agrippa’s work is widely regarded as the most significant book ever written about western esotericism.

Exhibition Curator Theia Connell says ‘All the fires come alive tunes into invisible frequencies, casts light into the shadows, and roams the collection’s magical undergrowth.’

All the fires come alive features fourteen of Australia’s most exhilarating artists, many of them from Tasmania, and includes commissioned artists:

Hilary Schofield, who has brewed a perfume that captures the scent of the convict records
Marion Abraham whose paintings are inspired by the Great Comet of 1854
Edith Perrenot who crafts ceramic vessels to contain wayward spirits.

A series of free public events will take place in the State Library and Archives of Tasmania during Dark Mofo.

These include talks by the Argentinian horror writer Mariana Enriquez, archaeologist Louise Zarmati on protective charms in colonial architecture, and the Love, Health, Acres, Wealth Market.

For the All the fires come alive event program and bookings, visit the Libraries Tasmania website.