Last chance to see The Lindisfarne Gospels at Laing Art Gallery

It’s the final opportunity to see the Laing Art Gallery’s landmark exhibition for 2022 - The Lindisfarne Gospels – which draws to a close on Saturday 3 December. The exhibition celebrates the most spectacular surviving manuscript from early medieval Britain and features a new work by Turner-Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller, who has also acted as an artistic advisor for the show.

This is the first time the venerated book, on loan from the British Library, has been on display in the city since 2000. The exhibition investigates the meaning of the Lindisfarne Gospels in the world today and explores its relationship with themes of personal, regional, and national identity. Ambitious in scale, the exhibition is shown across three gallery spaces.

A highlight of the exhibition is a new film commission by Jeremy Deller, The Deliverers, which explores the journey of the Lindisfarne Gospels from London to Newcastle upon Tyne.

The Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition begins with an immersive digital experience, where visitors journey back to Lindisfarne during the 8th century. Though remote, the island was perfectly situated on early medieval sea-borne trade routes and enjoyed imports of new ideas, art, cultures and objects. An innovative visual and sensory experience, this new digital interpretation, created by video specialists Novak, flows over the gallery walls, reflecting the manuscript’s story, its beauty and multicultural influences in an awe-inspiring way.

The second gallery showcases the Gospels themselves and sees early medieval treasures brought together from across Britain, in an exploration of belief and spirituality around the time of the 8th century. This was a period of great change, as Britain slowly transitioned from Paganism to Christianity, and surviving material is extremely rare. Over 20 remarkable objects are on display, each reflecting the meaning people attached to books, objects and art.

Exhibits range in scale from small tokens of devotion, including stunning gold jewellery, to fragments of monumental carved stone crosses, which stood up to twenty feet high and marked gathering places for worship. They represent both personal and collective religious experience in the 8th century, and how sacred objects brought people closer to their relatively new faith. Key loans include grave goods from some of the earliest converts to Christianity, and material from the Staffordshire Hoard.

At the heart of the exhibition, the Lindisfarne Gospels is shown alongside other illuminated manuscripts, including another significant loan from the British Library – the St Cuthbert Gospel, the oldest intact European book. With their painstakingly elaborate decoration and symbolism, these masterpieces of craftsmanship were a tremendous show of devotion.

The Lindisfarne Gospels is open at the beginning of the Gospel of St John, ff. 210v-211r. The cross-carpet page and the opening words of the Gospel of St John are the last major decoration in the manuscript and demonstrate the many different elements of its creator’s decorative vocabulary within a single final tour de force.

In the third gallery, visitors can see how art and spirituality have developed in the centuries since the Lindisfarne Gospels were created. A number of paintings, drawings and photographs are on loan to the exhibition, reflecting how artists throughout history have represented the spiritual state of their time. This includes Old Master religious works, the Romantic painters who sought spiritual experience through nature, and contemporary artists exploring the deeper questions of life.

Combining works from across different faiths, as well as outside of formal religion, the exhibition explores themes of spirituality, connection and identity in a way that is relevant to today’s world.

Julie Milne, Chief Curator of Art Galleries, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, said: “We’re very grateful for the support from the British Library to host the Lindisfarne Gospels – it's wonderful to be able to exhibit it in the North East where it was created 1300 years ago. We’ve had a fantastic response from visitors to the exhibition so far and with only a short time left, we hope as many people as possible take this special opportunity to see this rare, precious artefact, which is such an important part of our region’s history and heritage."

Dr Xerxes Mazda, Head of Collections and Curation at the British Library, said: “We are thrilled to have worked with partners across the North East to bring the Lindisfarne Gospels to the Laing Art Gallery for this exciting exhibition. One of the greatest manuscripts in our care, the Gospels represent an extraordinary artistic achievement of national and international significance. We are delighted to see new audiences engage with this exceptional example of early medieval design”.

The Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition is sponsored by Ad Gefrin Visitor Experience and Distillery, which will open in Wooler in Spring 2023 and bring to life the hidden history of the 7th Century Anglo Saxon royal summer palace of the Northumbrian Kings and Queens discovered at Yeavering only four miles away – one of the 20th century’s most remarkable archaeological finds.

Dr Chris Ferguson, Director of Experience at Ad Gefrin, commented, “We are delighted to be the headline sponsor of The Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition at the Laing. It is a truly glorious exhibition and I know this will be an exciting curtain-raiser for our own permanent visitor experience when it opens in the spring. Our partnership with Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums continues to project a powerful voice for the North East, for culture and for everything that there is to celebrate about the Anglo-Saxon golden age. I urge anyone who hasn't seen the exhibition to plan a visit - it is a golden opportunity to see a precious historical artefact which has such special resonance with the North East".

Elected Metro Mayor for the North of Tyne, Jamie Driscoll, said: "You don't have to be a history buff or art lover to feel moved by this magnificent manuscript - this is about much more than showcasing spectacular artefacts. It's about bringing people together, to share and champion our region's history. I'm delighted we could support this exhibition.”

The Laing Art Gallery is also grateful for support from The North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA), The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Barbour Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, The Headley Trust and sponsors, Fergusons, Tyne and Wear Metro, and the Royal Grammar School Newcastle (RGS).

Tickets are available to book via www.laingartgallery.org.uk