Resources > Villa of the Mysteries
Marisa Müsing visited the Centre for the Study of Ancient Material Religion at The Open University on 10th June 2025 to give a paper entitled ‘digital mimicry and the villa of mysteries’. After the seminar, Jessica Hughes and Marisa Müsing were joined by Dr Emma-Jayne Graham and Dr Joanna Paul to record an audio discussion about the Villa of the Mysteries and the relationship between contemporary art and Roman archaeology.
You can listen to this recording via Soundcloud. A transcript of the conversation is also available.
IMAGE: DEEP DREAM MONSTER, MARISA MÜSING. USED COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
Programme structure and timecodes:
0.00 Introduction; 0.52 Marisa Müsing on the background to the project; 2.47 Emma-Jayne Graham on the archaeology of the Villa of the Mysteries; 9.39 Marisa Müsing and E-J Graham on the frescoes; 16.20 Joanna Paul on the reception of Pompeii; 24.08 Marisa Müsing and Jo Paul on mirrors and identity; 25.55 Marisa Müsing on the digital mimicry project; 38.17 the dialogue between contemporary art and Roman archaeology; 45.29 a final look at the frescoes and villa.
Further reading and resources:
Details of Patricia Olson’s work The Mysteries Revisited https://gallery.stkate.edu/exhibition/mysteries-revisited
David Cannon Dashiell’s Queer Mysteries https://davidcannondashiell.com/Queer-Mysteries-1
Legacy Russell’s Gay Pompeii https://www.legacyrussell.com/GAY-POMPEII
Photographs of the Villa of the Mysteries on the Pompeii in Pictures site: https://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/RV/villa%20mysteries%20plan.htm
Marisa Müsing’s website: https://marisamusing.com