Ilana Halperin: Can a mineral be haunted?

Glasgow-based artist Ilana Halperin researched and developed ideas for a contemporary art exhibition inspired by National Museums Scotland’s collections. The exhibition, ‘The Library’, was open from 24 May-29 September 2013. Over the months, she looked through National Museums Scotland’s collections, finding out about minerals, fossils, molluscs and rocks and uncovering some fascinating stories. In this series of blog posts, we share some of the fantastic things she found.

It’s not the usual place you’d expect to find a ghost, but National Museums Scotland actually has around twenty so-called Ghost Minerals. They’re one of the objects that artist Ilana Halperin has uncovered in the Museum’s stores and they’re more beautiful than spooky. Ilana explains:

“In a ghost mineral, one mineral has formed and then another mineral, or even the same mineral, will begin growth again and will form around it. Once it’s fully formed you can see the ‘ghost’ of one mineral inside another. They’re really very beautiful objects, with a very poetic and evocative name!”

Ghost mineral from National Museums Scotland geology collection.
Ghost mineral from National Museums Scotland geology collection
Quartz ghost mineral from National Museums Scotland geology collection
Quartz ghost mineral from National Museums Scotland geology collection.

You can visit Ilana’s website here.

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