15/11/2024
22/02/2025
Free
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Image credit: Sophus Tromholt, Picture Collection, University of Bergen Library, Norway

Recent sightings of the Northern Lights in Britain have piqued the public's interest in this wonderfully colourful natural phenomenon. Sophus Tromholt was also captivated by the auroras and hoped to capture them using photography while living in Norway from 1882-83, however the photographic plates were not sensitive enough at the time. Instead, he sketched the auroras on wood and photographed his works to accompany his book, Under the Rays of the Aurora Borealis. 

"When I encountered Sophus Tromholt’s prints of Sámi people and landscapes at the University of Bergen Library, I did not expect to find Auroras. Learning that they were not prints of photographs, but Tromholt's sketches of the heavens over Kautokeino, prompted an almost-visceral response that these were worthy of an exhibition quite different from his portraits of the Sámi people for which he is famous." - Dr Christine Finn, guest curator

This exhibition will contrast high quality prints of Tromholt's black and white images of the auroras with the vibrant colours typical of Sámi textiles and include an opportunity to listen to a recording by Michael Maloney reading an extract from Under the Rays of the Aurora Borealis

Opening Times

Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00-16:00