See Me Appear

See Me Appear is a new site-specific immersive artwork by Peut-Porter which utilises XR (Extended Reality) technologies to create new forms of heritage storytelling and imagine the untold stories of the Egerton women who lived at Tatton Park, Cheshire from 1680 to 1799.

It forms part of a site-wide exhibition at Tatton Park taking place from April to November 2026, a celebration of Tatton’s rich landscape, collections, and connection to the Italian painter Canaletto.

Due to the domination of male historians and the meticulous record of the male experience, the diverse lives of women living in 18th century Europe remain under-represented and one-dimensional. In response, Peut-Porter constructs a missing female gaze in the context of the Tatton Park Mansion and the Egerton Family who resided there during the 18th century. In three chapters the artists explore speculative narratives revolving around the dreams and aspirations of Samuel Egerton’s mother Elizabeth, sister Hester, and daughter Beatrix.

The three women played an important role in the household while Samuel was sent to Venice as a teenager to study. His mother and sister remained at the estate, shaping its history behind the scenes. With this Triptych of stories Peut-Porter crafts fictional histories around these characters to honour their overlooked contributions and reflect on how much of women’s history remains untold or forgotten.

The final artwork will build on the existing stagecraft and theatrical setting of Tatton’s Mansion and use digital formats such as AR Portals into the women's dreams, virtual characters and worldbuilding to create a multimodal, haptic and embodied experience for audiences. The work encourages visitors to imagine how the women of Tatton Park envisioned the future, and how they may have dreamt about travels, technology, and social freedoms.

‘See Me Appear’ has been developed through Impossible Perspectives, a new UK XR commissioning programme produced by Abandon Normal Devices, commissioned by Abandon Normal Devices and Cheshire East Council.

• https://immersivearts.uk/projects/see-me...