Elemental

About

'Elemental' is an exhibition in Eton College's Verey Gallery which uses the College Collections to explore our cultural relationship with the traditional four elements.

The traditional four elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth have been central to the human experience in cultures around the world. Before the advent of modern physics, chemistry and the periodic table, the associations of these four basic elements suffused myth, religion, astrology, folklore, language, literature and art. The subject of how we relate to the material world is still topical, with climate change and environmental concerns dominating the headlines: water shortages, wildfires, air pollution, floods, droughts and earthquakes, and even the coronavirus pandemic has been attributed to the lack of a balanced relationship with the material world.  

‘Elemental’ tells the story of our cultural relationship with the material world through the prism of the holdings of College Library and the College Collections, using books, art works, photographs, antiquities, natural history specimens, archival documents and more.