If you venture into London’s West End you’ll stumble across an exhibition of the work of Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima. Who you probably haven’t heard of, though I can guarantee that you’ve seen their work! The dynamic duo was reasonable for the beautiful graphics and illustrations that made the Harry Potter films so special. Think Harry’s Hogwart’s letter, the Marauder’s Map, the Daily Prophet, countless textbook covers, Proclamations and posters that populated and added depth to the Potter world.
It’s called the House of MinaLima and its 4 floors are absolutely packed. The two have been collaborating on graphic design work for the past 15 years, so not everything in The House is Potter related. The first floor is dedicated to other works whilst the second and third floors are the world of Potter. The building is quaint and higgledy-piggledy. Perfect for a Potter exhibition.
It’s also put together with such love and care. It’s absolutely gorgeous. A copy of the Marauder’s Map takes up the floor in one room and you can see the fireplace overflowing with acceptance letters. You have to bow to the creative skill of MinaLima. The amazing thing is that in the Potter world computers don’t exist, so one of the distinguishing features is the emphasis on things that are handwritten. Quills, ink, glorious cursive. Then you start looking closer and see, yes that’s a letter N but it’s also made out of noses. Or that S also slightly looks like a bird.
You can purchase some limited edition prints of some of the art. It’s all stunning and it’s hard to pick a favourite. Though I loved looking at the Quibbler (it’s not blank inside – they designed the whole magazine!), if you twisted my arm I’d say that my favourite piece was maybe one of the Quidditch World Cup posters. Or a Map of Diagon Alley. Or maybe the Beadle the Bard book cover.
House of Minalima is located at: 26 Greek St, London W1D 5DE
The exhibition is only open until the 4th of February 2017, but it’s pretty much every day from 12pm-7pm.
It’s so lovely and I’d highly recommend anyone with a spare hour to pop inside. It’s super busy Friday-Sunday so if you had some free time in the middle of an afternoon on a weekday, that would definitely be the best time to visit.
What do you think your favourite Potter print would be?
