Here Be Dragons
Sophie Hiscock gives an overview of a new exhibition opening at The Story Museum on 13 July.
This summer, The Story Museum in Oxford is opening a new exhibition – Here Be Dragons: co-curated by Cressida Cowell and Toothless. The exhibition references over 100 different dragon stories, paying tribute to these enduringly popular mythical creatures. From mythology and epic to books and films, dragons have held an enduring appeal in human cultures across the world. These mighty beasts, who can be cruel and bloodthirsty but also wise and witty have clearly got the best PR in the business to keep them top of the charts. But what is their secret?
From a very unscientific piece of audience research, it appears that everyone can name a couple of dragons – whether it’s the cuddlier varieties from Idris the Dragon who lives in the firebox of Ivor the Engine, or Mushu the guardian dragon in Disney’s Mulan, to the mighty monsters from the world of epics such as Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion in Game of Thrones or the live action remake of Maleficent. Inspired by dinosaurs and a host of reptiles, these fire-breathing giants adapt well to the world of the big screen and CGI special effects. And then of course the list of literary dragons would fill a book in its own right. In the British literary canon, Tolkien probably claims the top spot but Christopher Paolini, JK Rowling and Cressida Cowell are pressing hot on his heels! And dragons have deep roots down across every civilisation from the Mesopotamian ušum-gal (literally ‘big snake’) to the Dragons representing the four elements in Chinese folklore, through to Ladon guarding the golden apples of the Hesperides and the wyrms of Mediaeval Europe. Through time and culture, dragons have populated our imaginations, inspiring fear, awe and respect.
In many of these stories, dragons can be seen as representing or connecting us to aspects of the natural world. Speaking about her own fascination with these fearsome beasts, Cressida Cowell talks about the inspiration provided by her childhood summers spent in the rugged landscape of a remote Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides, and the stories her father told by firelight in the evenings. As Cowell explores in her How to Train a Dragon series, the taming of dragons can be read as a way of exploring our relationship with the wild. Dragons represent the wild and destructive side of nature and our desire to establish control. What dragons teach us is that you can’t always be in control. Eventually, you have to accept and respect that dragons live in the wild.
Metaphorically, this extends further to the relationship we each have with our wilder and more destructive emotions, and how these darker emotions can be both negative but also have the capacity to be channelled more positively. From lazy, greedy and cunning dragons to wise protectors and guardians, we can all relate to these dragon-ish traits. By respecting dragons and understanding their many and complex traits we can build empathy and self-knowledge.
In her books, Cowell also presents a real variety of dragons – some of which are very sympathetic and others that represent untameable and untrainable wildness – and in this exhibition Cowell urges us to be curious and find out more about a host of different dragons. Themed around the four elements of earth, air, fire and water, with each zone protected by its own guardian dragon, the exhibition blends stories, objects and activities in the Story Museum’s trademark hands-on approach. Visitors are invited to step into a newly discovered vault of dragon lore, with Cowell voicing an introduction to each zone, accompanied by video footage of her drawing characters from her How to Train a Dragon series.
Notable loans include a gruesome pickled dragon in a jar, created by author Allistair Mitchell. This extraordinary object– allegedly discovered in a garage along with paperwork revealing it as a 19th century forgery – was created by Mitchell in response to a host of rejections for the manuscript of his book. More traditional museum fare includes a Chinese dragon mask and a ceramic ridge tile topped with a dragon
Dragon mask, from China.
2009.46.13, on loan from the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford
which have been loaned by Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum along with mammoth bones from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Tolkien fans can see original slides from his 1938 lecture on dragons whilst fans of the golden age of children’s TV can find the Soup Dragon from the Clangers, along with original illustrations by Peter Firmin of Idris the Dragon from Ivor the Engine and the Ice Dragon from Noggin the Nog. The team has also commissioned eight new dragon portraits representing the dragon in different cultures from Japan to Egypt and from India to Iceland.
Visitors can learn a dragon dance and make their own dragon music with the dragons of the air or fold their own dragon origami puppet, before racing dragons on a zip wire across to the magnetic poetry wall where they can compose their own dragon odes. A special handle fuels the fire-breathing dragon, complete with sulphur-smell box, whilst a chest of mysterious bones can be pieced together to discover a dragon. Visitors can also choose a costume in which to meet a dragon, add their illustrations to an ever-expanding Bestiary book and create their own mix and match dragon.
The Soup Dragon
© Coolabi Productions Limited, Smallfilms Limited and the Peter Firmin Partnership.
Above all, what this exhibition shows is the flexibility of dragons which is surely why they have endured so well. They can be wise and loyal, greedy and selfish, violent and unpredictable. As Cowell once again explains, using a bird-watching analogy, dragons have very distinct traits – each one is specific. And their stories and their personalities can teach us something about ourselves and the world in which we live. So, we should all follow Cowell’s advice to know your dragons and know what you’re dealing with.
Sophie Hiscock is director of communications and impact at The Story Museum.
Here Be Dragons – co-curated by Cressida Cowell and Toothless opened on 13 July at The Story Museum in Oxford and runs through until Summer 2025. The exhibition is included in a Museum Galleries Ticket, priced at £14 for adults and children, £6.50 for ages 1-4, free for under 1s and carers.
