Mona Choo - International Print Resident

Hair Of Deceased Person, Read By Psychic

01 July 2009

 

For those with a hair fetish, this one's for you.

 

This lock of hair, which is housed in the National Arts Library for those of you who would like to come and see the real thing for yourself, was one of the objects that Avril tried to 'read'. She was not shown the handwritten note until after the reading.

 

 

Hair with accompanying handwritten note.

 

 

Close-up of hair.

 

 

Avril was allowed to touch the hair with her fingers, ungloved.

 

Here is what she had to say:

 

- this is a man's hair.

- he was much loved and revered by his family.

- a handsome man.

- had diverse talents.

- horses - kept a stable?

- I see him wearing a dressing gown, and he is fond of sitting at the desk, facing out to the garden.

- his past time was writing.

- Doctor?

- very intelligent.

- he suffered poor health throughout his life.

- there was an incident in this person's life where he could have lost his life.

- age - late 40's early 50's.....

- I'm getting the name 'Jock'.

- suffered dementia, or cloudy thinking.

- there was poor health, in his family or him.

- there seemed to be a lot of sport around this person.

- I sense two personalities:  a tense, straight and irascible person, but also extrememly jolly as well.

- engineer?

- bridges

- astronomy

- I'm sensing the period 1900-1905

- there is a link to somebody who discovered something, something to do with medicine.

- his wife thought the world of him.

- 2 children.

 

 

 

Unfortunately we don't know very much about Thomas Hutton, to whom the hair belonged. What we do know I've tried to condense below:

 

On the handwritten note: "A lock of my father's hair cut off by William soon after he died, on June 10th. 1896"

 

 

This was the only picture I could find of Thomas Hutton, on the internet.

 

Thomas Hutton (1821 - 1896) was a Captain in the 4th Light Dragoons.

 

With regards to Avril's mention of horses, his poor health, and the fact that there was an incident where he could have lost his life, here are some facts:

 

"The regimental history states that during the Charge (of the Light Brigade), Hutton was shot through the right thigh as he rode up the valley and reported the wound to Captain Low, his squadron leader. 'If you can sit on your horse' replied Low, 'you had better come with us, there's no use going back now, you'll only be killed'. Accordingly, Hutton rode on and fought through the guns returning with the regiment. As they rode back up the valley Hutton was shot through his other thigh but remained on his horse. Colonel Paget overtook him, saw that he was hurt and faint and passed him his rum flask. Hutton thanked him and said 'I have been wounded Colonel, would you have any objection to me going to the Doctor when I get in?'. His horse had eleven wounds and had to be destroyed."

 

Excerpt taken from Forgotten Heroes - The Charge of the Light Brigade by Roy Dutton.

 

Being an army Captain, Hutton would've had much to do with horses. It could also go some way towards explaining the two personalities that Avril sensed. One was the military man, who had to obey orders and also give orders, hence the 'tense, straight and irasible character', and the other was the real man, the 'extremely jolly' fellow.

 

Regarding Avril's other statements -

 

- there seemed to be a lot of sport around this person.

Here is what I've been able to find. Thomas Hutton was the older brother of Alfred Hutton (1839 - 1910). Alfred made significant contributions to the world of fencing and swordsmanship. He published a number of books on the subject, was first president of the Amateur Fencing Association, promoted the beginning of national championships for men, and later for women, and in 1909, became fencing delegate to the British Olympic Council among other achievements.

 

 

- there is a link to somebody who discovered something, something to do with medicine.

The link is, once again, his younger brother Alfred Hutton, who was one of the founders in 1874 of the Central London Throat and Ear Hospital, and for thirty years he was it's first chairman.

 

 

As for children, I have so far only been able to find mention that Thomas Hutton had one daughter, named Violet. I don't know who William might be (the name mentioned on the note accompanying the lock of hair and the person who cut the hair).

 

Thomas Hutton died aged 75.

 

 

 

 

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Can Objects Speak?

29 June 2009

 

 

Any unexplained phenomenon passes through three stages before the reality of it is accepted. During the first stage, it is considered laughable. During the second stage, it is adamantly opposed. Finally, during the third stage, it is accepted as self-evident.

- Arthur Schopenhauer

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Playing Cards Read By Psychic

29 June 2009

 This pack of cards (only four left) were one of the items read by Avril during the first psychic workshop we conducted.

 

She had never seen or touched them before. Taking one of the cards in between her palms, here is what she said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

- they are masculine cards.

- there's a German influence.

- I see a large door with a wooden table, and a large mirror hanging.

- I feel like I can go under the building and into a tunnelled area leading into a kitchen or serving area, through to a dining room/sitting room.

- there is a gentleman sitting, near a big open fireplace.

- there is some kind of military conversation or interaction.

- the man is a large, portly man, fond of brandy, with strong features.... large nose and thinning hair on top.

- has a background in politics, maybe theology?

- a good conversationalist, and is opinionated.

- others would have sought his advice.

- suffered at night with colds - grumpy.

- time period: 1850's

- I can see a younger man, in a red jacket with gold braid, with a moustache.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's what we know about the cards, which were revealed only after Avril's reading.

 

The cards were bequeathed to the V&A by Sir Henry Cole (1808-1882). According to the Museum, they belonged to him.

    

Sir Henry Cole

 

 

Caricature of Sir Henry Cole

 

As you can see, Avril's description of Sir Henry Cole was not far wrong.

 

The following paragraphs are taken from the V&A's website and is the obituary of Sir Henry Cole.

 

"In 1823, at the age of 15, he went into the public service under the Record Commission.  At a later date he was appointed an Assistant-Keeper of the Public Records. While holding this position, he published 'Henry the Eighth's Scheme of Bishopricks' and copies of several of the public records; and a series of pamphlets which he wrote on the reform of the public record system contributed materially to the establishment of the present General Record Office."

 

"In 1840 Mr. Cole, who was still engaged in the public service, gained one of the four prizes of £100 offered by the Treasury for suggestions for developing the Penny Postage plan originated by Sir Rowland Hill."

 

"It was about the year 1845 that Sir Henry Cole began to devote his chief attention to the development of art in connexion with industry and manufactures. At this time he originated a series of 'Art Manufactures', contributing many designs himself, and he assisted the Society of Arts in organizing a series of exhibitions for the purpose of stimulating public industry and invention. This was the germ of the Great Exhibition of 1851, for Mr. Cole's suggestion that every five years the exhibitions organized by him should assume a national character was adopted by the Prince Consort (Prince Albert) and developed into the Great International Exhibition, which first revealed to the nation how far it had fallen behindhand in the finer arts of manufacture and design."

 

As you can see,  much of the text will verify what Avril has said to a certain degree, and pin points a time in Henry Cole's life that was significant, namely the period of the Great Exhibition (the 1850's) and which Avril had mentioned. It also mentions his relationship with the Prince Consort.

 

 

Prince Albert

 

 

Prince Albert could have been the younger man in the red jacket and gold braid, and also the German influence that Avril said she could feel.

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Hair

25 June 2009

Hair is fascinating stuff - it doesn't really rot so it keeps for a long time and it contains a certain amount of a person's DNA.

 

I didn't know this, but during the Victorian ages, a lot of mourning jewellery was made that contained the hair of the deceased.

 

Here's an example:

 

 

Object:  Hair-work Brooch and box

Date: ca. 1842

Techniques: Brooch - human hair and gold / Box - card and engraving

Artist: Forrer, A.

Location: England

 

"Death was highly visible in Victorian culture. It was a time for communal feeling, studied response and ritual, with people encouraged to give public expression to their grief.

 

Throughout the Victorian period, there were 'hair artists' who specialised in turning locks of hair into jewellery that could be worn as a very physical memorial to someone who had died. Printed catalogues presented customers with a choice of designs and offered discreet guarantees that the locks of hair were not muddled or substituted in the process. The back of this brooch is engraved with the dates of a sixteen- year-old who died in 1842."

 

This would've been a good one for Avril (the psychic with whom I'm working) to read, but again, the fact that it is a fragile piece of jewellery made it prohibitive.

 

I'm curious to know what the life of this sixteen-year-old would have been like in the 1830's and how she came to die so young. 

 

 

 

Here are some other examples of hair jewellery:

 

 

 

Object:  Locket and chain

Date: ca. 1810

Techniques: Gold, cast and chased, painted in watercolour on ivory, hair, enamel, pearl, gold thread.

Artist: Miers, John

Location: England

 

 

Not all hair jewellery was associated with death. They were also often used as visual keepsakes, as objects of love and friendship.

 

 

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Kaftan of murdered Prince?

25 June 2009

This was one of the objects that I'd had my eye on, early in the residency, for the psychic workshop. Unfortunately, it's an item that's on display and therefore couldn't be used for obvious reasons. 

 

However, it doesn't detract from the fact that it would've been interesting to see what Avril, the psychic with whom I'm working, could've read from it. Here are the quick details:

 

Object: Kaftan

Date: 1590

Techniques: Woven silk, weft made by silk and gilt metal thread, silk warp; lampas weave with satin ground and weft-faced twill pattern.

 

"Kaftans like this one were worn by Ottoman princes who died when they were children. They were preserved in imperial tombs where, in accordance with Ottoman custom, they were placed over the graves of the deceased.


This kaftan may have come from one of the 19 younger sons of Sultan Murat III. They were executed at the succession of their half brother, Mehmet III in 1595. This gory practice, designed to avoid a struggle for the succession to the throne, was never repeated.

 

I'd like to entertain the possibility that fabric, especially from clothing, can somehow absorb the traumatic energy of such an event, especially given that the kaftans were later buried with the murdered children. A psychic could possibly reveal whether this kaftan was indeed worn by one of the slain princes

 

 

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Inspiration comes in many guises

25 June 2009

With just over a month left to go before the residency ends and I head back to Hong Kong, I thought I’d drop in some of the things that have inspired me, expanded my thinking, or that I simply find interesting.

 

From now on, you may just get snippets from me, since I’m trying to juggle all sorts of things, from workshops to moving (out of the studio that is) to more reading to conceptualising to designing (my collaboration with Lilia which I’ll have to elaborate on later….).

 

Anyway, one of the topics I’ve been reading on and researching is the work of Friedrich Jurgenson (1903-1987). He became known for the hundreds of recordings he made on tape, of voices from the dead (or from spirits, or from ‘the other side’), and was subsequently named the founder of the science or pseudo science of EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena). The ease and success with which he was able to record these voices, which often times couldn’t be heard at the moment of recording but only when played back (sometimes at a slower speed), gave me the idea that I could do a similar experiment in the Museum.

 

 Friedrich Jurgenson (1903-1987)

 

Jurgenson at his tape recorder.

 

Given that I am trying to introduce another way to observe, appreciate, and to connect with the objects here, the idea of turning on the recording device in the Museum, when it’s closed to the public, became a rather exciting prospect.

 

If we assume that objects can indeed absorb information about us after we touch it, then who’s to say that this absorbed energy (or consciousness) can’t make any noise? Or even speak?

 

I have managed to get my grubby hands on a fabulous digital recorder, thanks to Jonathan Pawley and Jim over at AV. So the first recording of the ambient sounds inside the Museum (after closing hours) will be made very shortly, within the next day or two.

 

Wish me and the recorder some luck.

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Contribute to the Psychic Workshop

09 June 2009

 I would be grateful if any of you would answer this simple question, in your own way. You can remain anonymous - it's more the result I'm after.

 

If an object can absorb information about you, what object would you choose to leave behind so that people in the future can 'read' your story?

 

Would it be your wedding ring? Your teddy that you've had since you were 6? Your Mum's gold locket? Your Dad's spectacles? Your belt?

 

I would love to know. The results will become part of my finished project in some way. Thank you in advance.

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Psychic Workshop Preparation

08 June 2009

One of the great perks of this residency is coming into contact with the curators. They offer a wealth of expertise and knowledge that I couldn’t acquire in a lifetime. And the best part about the curators is the objects they have access to, physically and informationally.

 

Whilst preparing for my psychic workshop, I’ve had to rely on the curators to supply me with a list of objects under their care that answer my brief. One of the difficulties, and hence a limiting factor, in choosing the objects is that the psychic should ideally be able to touch the objects, i.e. make skin contact.

 

Psychometry, a term coined by Joseph Buchanan in 1842, means ‘reading objects by touch’. The effectiveness and accuracy of the reading, though not guaranteed, could be more easily achieved with contact between the psychic and the objects.

 

Naturally, this narrows the field somewhat in terms of the objects that would be available for the workshop, since they would have to be moved and handled.

 

In the past weeks I’ve had the priviledge of accessing the stores (the storage rooms where undisplayed objects are kept) in the company of the curators. I was able to see and sometimes even touch many things that the public may never get the chance to see. This was where, between the curators and I, we made decisions about objects that would be selected for ‘reading’.

 

Among the things selected were items of clothing – hats, gloves, a jacket, hair jewellery; handwritten letters; a lock of hair(!); playing cards; a child’s night cap and hanky; and wallpaper too. I can mention these objects here now because these items have already been ‘read’ in the last two workshops held here at the Museum (in case the sceptics out there decide to accuse me of giving the psychic a head start by talking about them before the workshop).

 

In the next few days I’ll endeavour to post on this blog, as much as I can, the results of the workshop and also my thoughts on how I hope to proceed from here. There is one more psychic workshop coming up, scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday July 4th. If you’re keen to come and watch and possibly try your hand at reading objects too, please come along. Sceptics are welcome.

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Being Human

02 June 2009

 25 May 2009

 

I thought it sad when, this morning as I marched robotically alongside my fellow commuters to my required tube platform and the voice over the tannoy announced that some train lines were temporarily out of service due to a person under a train, my first thought, far from being any emotion or concern for the person, was to hope that it wasn’t the line that I needed. I knew I wasn’t alone in thinking these thoughts, yet I didn’t feel comforted by this.

 

At what point do we become so detached/disassociated/disconnected from each other? Or have we always been this way?

 

On the other hand, as I stepped into the train this evening to go home afer a long, effortful, day, I noticed an entire row of seats was empty so I made a beeline for it. There, lying on the train floor like a pizza with no base, was a big splat of vomit.

 

No wonder we don’t like each other.

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http://twitter.com/MuseumPsychic

21 May 2009

Get Tweeting and follow the progress of my work and the psychic workshop results on 

http://twitter.com/MuseumPsychic

 

Or check back here regularly for a more in-depth discussion.

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Mona Choo was the V&A's International Print Resident.

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