Manx National Heritage has opened its ‘magical exhibition’ at the Manx Museum.
The exhibition creates an enchanting world of Manx fairy tales, myths and legends in ‘Rare Sightings and Urban Faeries’, by illustrator Julia Ashby Smyth.
Inspired by some of the most popular characters from Manx folklore, the exhibition will feature over 70 magical creatures.
The creatures are believed to inhabit the Isle of Man’s landscape of bogs, waterfalls and hillsides, alongside lesser-known beings inhabiting the island’s urban world.
Magical Exhibition
Studying art at Ramsey Grammar School and North Staffordshire Polytechnic, Julia Ashby Smyth is a Manx illustrator who is at the heart of the Island’s art scene as curator of the Hodgson Loom Gallery at the Laxey Woollen Mills.
Her distinctive illustrations are well known and much loved, appearing across the Island through many local commissions.
Working as an illustrator for over 40 years, Julia Ashby Smyth’s work has featured on Isle of Man stamp collections, coins and in well-known publications, including the new edition of Sophia Morrison’s Manx Fairy Tales.
In recent years she has become known as the illustrator for Fynoderee Distillery, with her unique style, imagination, and profound knowledge of all things mythical and Manx making Julia the perfect fit for bringing the Fynoderee brand to life.
The exhibition opened to the public at the Manx Museum on Saturday and will be on show until February 23, 2025.
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