They live under the bed and come out at night

14th July 2006, 1:00am

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They live under the bed and come out at night

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/they-live-under-bed-and-come-out-night
(Photograph) - They live under the bed and come out at night. They haunt nightmares and scare small children. And now they are on display at an art gallery.

Frabjous Beasts, a new exhibition at Holburne museum of art, in Bath, is a display of 20 monstrous creations by children’s illustrators.

The works include Axel Scheffler’s Gruffalo, Raymond Briggs’ Fungus the Bogeyman, and Sara Fanelli’s creatures from Greek mythology, such as the Scylla, pictured above. Comparisons will be drawn between the mythical beasts of ancient Britain and Greece, and the generally more benign creatures of children’s literature.

The illustrations on show have been chosen by Quentin Blake, the renowned children’s illustrator. Mr Blake has also created 20 frabjous beasts specifically for the exhibition. Alexander Sturgis, museum director, said:

“The fascination with monsters runs very deep. It’s a fear of the unknown and the monstrous. But what’s surprising is how human and endearing many of the monsters are. Children enjoy the free rein they can have in inventing fantastical creatures.”

Frabjous Beasts runs from July 18 to September 10. For more information, see: www.bath.ac.ukholburne. Photograph by SARA FANELLI

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