Love, health, acres, wealth. All the fires come alive.
— Prosperity spell from local witch’s Book of Shadows
An exhibition with Marion Abraham, Atong Atem, Joel Stephen Birnie, Pat Brassington, Lou Conboy, Julie Gough, Emily Parsons-Lord, Edith Perrenot, Michael Schlitz, Hilary Schofield with the Convict Records, Sisters Akousmatica with Jack Mitchell, and Ursula Woods.
Step into mystical worlds where spirits, incantations, and shadows are illuminated through art, words, and performance.
Uncover arcane knowledge, ritual, and alchemy in the collections of State Library and Archives of Tasmania.
For millennia, libraries have been sites for divining knowledge. Fabled as quiet places for discovery and contemplation, they are also gathering spaces for philosophical discussion, where the power of words is paramount.
At the heart of the exhibition is Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy.
Our copy is the English translation from 1651. Published in Latin in the early 1530s, it is upheld by scholars and magicians today as the most significant book about western esotericism ever written.
With Allport family provenance, the almost 400-year-old book was bequeathed to State Library and Archives of Tasmania in 2025.
The artists
Experience new installations and existing works across art, film and performance by:
- Marion Abraham
- Atong Atem
- Joel Stephen Birnie
- Pat Brassington
- Lou Conboy
- Julie Gough
- Emily Parsons-Lord
- Edith Perrenot
- Michael Schlitz
- Hilary Schofield with the Convict Records
- Sisters Akousmatica with Jack Mitchell
- Ursula Woods
Events
A free program of talks, performances and events running from June to October explores stories, the senses, belief and creative thinking. Book on Eventbrite.
Free exhibition
11 June – 25 October 2026
State Library and Archives of Tasmania
Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts
Ground Floor, 91 Murray Street
Nipaluna/Hobart, Lutruwita/Tasmania
- Monday to Friday 9:30 am to 6:00 pm
- Saturday 9:30 am to 2:00 pm
- Sunday 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
- closed public holidays
Free entry, no bookings required.
