All the fires come alive

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

All the fires come alive events run through Dark Mofo 11–22 June and beyond, featuring a diverse and thought-provoking program.

Highlights include performances and conversations with leading writers and thinkers, including Argentinian horror writer Mariana Enriquez; one of Australia’s most respected writers about human and magical bodies, Kris Kneen; comedian Claire Sullivan with some of the creepiest true stories from Lutruwita/Tasmania; and archaeologist Louise Zarmati on protective charms.

The Love, Health, Acres, Wealth Market will be filled with fortune tellers, apothecaries and scent makers, and features Sisters Akousmatica, Lou Conboy and Spinnarium, the storytelling oracle.

View and book events on Eventbrite.

Extended hours

All the fires come alive will open late on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays during Dark Mofo.