As an extension of the latest Pentagram Paper No.52, The Hudson Transparencies, Luke Powell and Jody Hudson-Powell curated the fourth Osh Gallery exhibition, offering visitors a unique opportunity to experience how their Great, Great Grandfather Charles Thomas Hudson’s transparencies would have appeared to audiences in Victorian times.

From swirling protozoa and delicate algae, to the mesmerising forms of rotifers (the tiny ‘wheel-bearing’ animals that would become something of an obsession for the naturalist Hudson), the back-lit, specially printed images recreate a moment when cutting-edge science and visual culture met to stunning effect. In an age dominated by HD digital imaging and high-powered microscopes, The Hudson Transparencies invites us to reflect on how we visualise and understand the natural world. The beautiful handmade transparencies remind us of a much earlier moment of scientific discovery, led by dedicated amateur scientists and driven by both ingenuity and curiosity.



The Transparencies


Hudson‘s 58 original transparencies are housed in simple wooden frames, they measure 37.8 × 29.5 inches (96 × 75 cm), enlarging the microorganisms to gigantic proportions – the equivalent of drawing ants the size of elephants. The frames are backed with thick manila paper, with animal and plant forms created using a combination of shapes cut from the paper, coloured and painted tissue paper layered into these openings that are then detailed with intricate lines and clusters of perforations. Unlit, they appear quite unfinished, but when these unassuming-looking pieces are lit from behind and viewed in a dark environment, they are transformed into objects of scientific discovery and beauty.

For the exhibition, Luke and Jody wanted to display the transparencies in a way that was reminiscent of how they would have been experienced by their original audiences. To achieve this, prints of the plants and animals, produced using the same double-sided printing process employed in the accompanying Pentagram Paper, were made at the exact dimensions of Hudson’s original transparencies and mounted within a large lightbox frame. Similarly to the originals, they were illuminated from behind, evoking the distinctive viewing conditions through which Hudson’s remarkable images were first seen. 

The Space 


The six lightboxes were suspended from the ceiling, predominantly against black walls, altering the feel of the gallery space as a whole and echoing the way that the original transparencies would have been viewed by audiences in a darkened room. Two of the lightboxes also hung in the gallery windows, creating a sense of intrigue from the street, particularly at night. While the lightboxes drew people into the exhibition, the supporting material gives a new angle and background knowledge, revealing the story behind the exhibition and helping visitors understand what they are looking at, giving a richer, more satisfying gallery experience.



Further enhancing the Victorian influence, ornate wooden vitrines housed the back story of Hudson’s life and work, and a bespoke, freestanding glass cabinet displayed the 3D printed rotifera Stephanoceros—the anatomy for which was built from scratch. The intention for the piece was to sit as a counterpoint to Hudson’s historical drawings, as a contemporary scientific rendering.
 
Also on display, Hudson‘s original sketchbook, a physical copy of The Rotifera or Wheel-Animalcules Volumes I & II, a family tree, and two small screens showing scientific videos. One features the Stephanoceros which appears in Hudson’s drawings, and is featured as one of the large scale transparencies and as the 3D model, enabling viewers to compare the various representations. The second video, linked directly with the open page of his sketchbook, brings the real creature and Hudson’s interpretation of it together.


Further supporting the narrative, the inclusion of large format images showing the reverse of six of Hudson‘s original transparencies, which are beautiful in their own right, revealing their delicate layers and handmade construction. As well as diagrams of how the pieces which were made, etched on perspex and hung over the vitrines.



Bespoke Typeface 


A bespoke typeface, called Adineta Hand, was also created for use in the exhibition. The style derived from the examples of hand lettering found throughout The Rotifera or Wheel-Animalcules. Whilst only used at small sizes for captioning, the typeface sets an underlying tonality to the visual identity of the exhibition that exemplifies the unique qualities of the source material.

The lettering is reminiscent of Egyptian styles, with their prominent slab serifs, but also features a modular-like construction and narrow proportions. The design process involved carefully interpreting and rationalising myriad features and inconsistencies, to construct a style that felt reminiscent of the original, but robust enough to use at smaller sizes for the exhibition displays, balancing the organic nature of a hand-rended style with typographic systemisation.

The typographic style replaces smooth round shapes with constructed, angular forms, an understandably intuitive approach to a ‘bold’, repeatable lettering style by the author. However an overly mechanical tone is prevented by the used of subtle stroke curvature and rounded joins—a distinctive tension between geometric and organic. Also key to the typeface’s design are the asymmetric serifs, where upper-left and lower-right serifs often overextend.

Whilst there were lots of examples of capital letter designs, there are very few of the lowercase, so much had to be imagined based on the features found in the existing drawings. The overall approach to the lowercase was filtered through a monospace-like sensibility, aligning with the constructed and slab serif nature of the capitals. A lowercase example that did exist in the original drawings is a more decorative double-story /g/ used for ‘Fig’ annotations, this was included as an optional ligature within the typeface.

Historical content intersecting with contemporary design 


Although based around nineteenth-century scientific material, the exhibition was shaped by a contemporary design approach. Historical objects, scientific content and archival material were brought together with bespoke typography, exhibition graphics and carefully considered interpretation to provide new perspectives on Hudson’s work. Not a traditional historical display nor a conventional graphic design exhibition, The Hudson Transparencies is a dialogue between past and present, re-presenting groundbreaking work in a new light; and between science and art, bringing skilled craftsmanship and scientific observation together.