FAQs - Why is it called ‘Tyger’ Gallery?

The beautiful interior of Tyger Gallery. But why is it called ‘Tyger’ Gallery?

In the first of a series of blog posts, Head Tyger Martyn Pearce writes about how and why the gallery name was chosen.

It’s the question I’m most often asked in the gallery: why did you call it ‘Tyger’ Gallery?

Let me explain as best I can! The primary reference point for the name is William Blake’s gorgeous poem, The Tyger. Published in Blake’s 1794 collection, Songs of Experience, The Tyger uses the animal to highlight the awesome power of nature and reveal a lot about humanity’s relationship with the natural world.

As Jonathan Jones wrote in his excellent article for The Guardian, ‘There is no other work of art that so urgently and universally tells the truth about nature and our relationship with it as Blake’s illuminated poem’.

Blake was a rock star romantic poet - and a person of many talents. Songs of Experience was also illustrated by him, and The Tyger had a stunning picture of an adult tiger, or at least what people in Blake’s time thought an adult tiger might look like. 

It’s a topic of debate whether it’s a good picture, but it’s certainly memorable - meaning Blake achieved the rare feat of creating a famous poem and a famous work of visual art for the same thing.

Yass may not have tigers - although who knows what really lives in wild hills that surround the beautiful town? - but it is a place steeped in a deep relationship with nature. From the incredible custodianship of the lands by the Ngunnawal people over tens of thousands of years to European settlement in the eighteenth century, and more recent viticulture and agriculture - Yass is the land that the town grew up on.

As a regional gallery we feel that connection to the land deeply, so The Tyger with its observations of the natural world and famous painting that went alongside it felt like the perfect reference point for the gallery.

But that’s not the only reason why ‘Tyger’ was chosen. I’m @sendinthetigers on Instagram, and Martyn with a ‘y’ (my go-to joke is “my life has so many ‘whys’ in it”).

After the gallery opened my new border collie pup was named Tyger by gallery-favourite Sara Phemister - so now there are two Tygers in my life (and I only have to remember one name - which is a bonus).