A NEW digital art exhibition, showing artefacts from Craven Museum in a completely different way, has been unveiled at Craven Gallery in Skipton Town Hall.

The work ‘New Light: Illuminating Artefacts’ has been created by Paul Miller, who has used projection mapping, video and an oral history soundscape to bring the museum’s objects to life.

The well-known hippo skull is seen in a new light, with projections exploring its ancient textures, while in another piece, a Second World War poster, is eerily animated with images of Spitfires flying over.

Paul said: “It’s been great going through the museum’s collection – it’s like a treasure trove.

“I had complete free rein which was brilliant. There were artefacts I found that had never been on display before; a doll was just closed away in a case. We kept finding hidden gems. I’ve also used some of the more well-known artefacts like the hippo skull and the wedding dress.

“The soundscape is created from the oral history archive, people who were born in the early 20th century. All the background sounds are created from the vocals, and I’ve tried to pick out key phrases. It’s about the fragility of memory, I’ve tried to mimic the way memory degrades and fades.”

The soundtrack also includes a recording of Patrick Stewart talking about Shakespeare’s First Folio, which is on permanent display in the museum.

Councillor Stephen Place, chairman of Craven District Council, said: “We are delighted to have worked with digital artist Paul Miller to develop this project and to have the opportunity to bring this unique body of work into public view, as part of our Arts Council funded museum resilience work.

“As we continue with our vision to develop exciting new content for our exhibitions and simultaneously offer opportunities for different members of our community to engage with the arts, being able to commission an artist like Paul has been fantastic.

“The project has clearly been a fantastic success, already attracting some brilliant feedback from members of the community who have been involved in the process.”

A creative drop-in session was open to the public and a local youth group helped collect visual material from the museum.

‘New Light: Illuminating Artefacts’ will run until the end of July at Craven Exhibition Gallery in Skipton Town Hall, and is open every day except Sundays from 10am to 4pm. Admission is free.