A celebrated materialisation medium, Helen Duncan (1897–1956) was known for dramatic séances involving ectoplasm—a mysterious substance said to aid spirit manifestation. Experiencing psychic and clairvoyant abilities from a young age, she gave consultations as a medium here at the College during the late 1920s and 30s. During the Second World War, while living in Portsmouth, Duncan revealed the secret sinking of H.M.S. Barham at a séance—information not yet public. Her activities drew the attention of the authorities, and on January 19, 1944, she was arrested under the Witchcraft Act of 1735. Her sensational trial led to a nine-month imprisonment in Holloway Prison and sparked lasting controversy around her legacy, Spiritualism, and state control. Family and supporters continue to seek a posthumous pardon and an apology for her persecution.
Shannon Taggart is an American photographer whose work blends documentary practice with metaphysical inquiry into Spiritualist traditions across the U.S., U.K., and Europe. These two photographs explore the legacy of renowned medium Helen Duncan. The first is the result of Taggart's investigations into the Scole Experiment (1993–98), a circle of mediums known for producing phenomena they claimed as physical evidence of life after death. It documents an apported handkerchief—believed to be a gift from Duncan's spirit—received on Valentine's Day, 1994. The second image shows Duncan's crystal ball being used in psychometric experiments to uncover its hidden history.
Sarah Sparkes is a UK-based artist and curator whose work explores unexplained events and phenomena, and the borderlands between art and science. A former research fellow at the Harry Price Library of Magical Literature, Sparkes created the '101 GHost-stories' series in response to archival investigations into mediumship. These works depict Helen Duncan in séance, bound and emitting ectoplasm. Floral patterns—drawn from the wallpaper of Sparkes' childhood home—carry ancestral resonance and emotional memory. In In Trance Sparkes works directly on a section of that very wallpaper, which she describes as having 'haunted my childhood'. Through layered, symbolic compositions, she weaves together personal haunting and historical documentation, honouring Duncan's resilience and legacy.
Photos: Eva Herzog & College of Psychic Studies. Artworks: Courtesy the artists and the collection of The College of Psychic Studies.
The Medium is the Message, 9 October 2025 –31st January 2026, was a major exhibition that explores the rich and complex relationship between artistic practice and mediumship.
Marking the centenary of The College of Psychic Studies' move to its historic home at 16 Queensberry Place in 1925, the exhibition spanned four floors and featured over 100 artworks alongside rare archival materials. It brought together more than 30 artists from the mid-19th century to the present day, examining how artists have visualised supernatural connection and imagined radical futures shaped by the ghostly and the unseen.
The Medium is the Message considered the artist as a channel between worlds – as a receiver of visions, energies and ideas. It highlighted the enduring role of mediumship within the College's history, with particular focus on the vital contributions of women – as artists, mediums, and feminist visionaries.
The exhibition included newly acquired works by Ithell Colquhoun, Aleksandra Ionowa, Sidney Manley, Ethel Le Rossignol, Anna Mary Howitt Watts and others alongside the first UK presentation of American visionary artist Paulina Peavy. These are shown in dialogue with works by contemporary artists including Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, Chantal Powell and Samir Mahmood, engaging with themes of spirit communication, ancestral memory, and the energetic connection between the body, Earth, and unseen realms.
Participating artists:
Mary Bligh Bond, Ann Churchill, Ithell Colquhoun, Joseph Crépin, Daniel, Dronma, Nicole Frobusch, Madge Gill, Anna Hackel, Stanislav Holas, Alme Hordijk, Frederick Hudson, Aleksandra Ionowa, Louise Janin, Freda Köhler, Augustin Lesage, Susan MacWilliam, Cara Macwilliam, Samir Mahmood, Sidney Manley, Margot, Cecilie Marková, Allen Moore o2o, Alice Essington Nelson, Heinrich Nüsslein, Paulina Peavy, František Jaroslav Pecka, Alice Pery, PIC, Chantal Powell, Victoria Rance, Arild Rosenkrantz, Ethel Le Rossignol, Victorien Sardou, Austin Osman Spare, Sarah Sparkes, Shannon Taggart, Mimei Thompson, Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, Anna Mary Howitt Watts, Ethel Annie Weir, Ariela Widzer, among others.
The Medium is the Message was curated by Jacqui McIntosh, Curator & Archivist at The College of Psychic Studies.
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