NOVA CANTABRIGIENSIS

John's Artwork

Nova Cantabrigiensis is a utopian island in the middle of the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia.

It is the invention of visionary outsider artist John Devlin, and was designed to recreate the atmosphere and architecture of Cambridge, England, which John considers to be the perfect city.

John came to study in Cambridge in 1979, and fell in love with its unique ambience. When mental illness forced him to return home to Canada after just one year, he became obsessed with discovering the secret to 'the Cambridge essence'.

Over ten years, John created over 360 beautiful and unique illustrations, dream-like sketches of re-imagined and reconfigured Cambridge buildings, drawn again and again in the pursuit of perfection.

The Book Project

The artist book NOVA CANTABRIGIENSIS will be thoughtfully collated and beautifully produced to show John's artwork and writings as they deserve to be seen. We plan to stock it in independent bookshops throughout Europe and North America, and the launch of the book will be accompanied by exhibitions of the original artwork in London, Cambridge and Nova Scotia.

Our project has been awarded funding by the arts charity IdeasTap, but we need to raise more to cover our initial printing costs.  By pre-ordering a copy of the book, you can help us to bring John's amazing work to a wider audience, and give as many different people as possible the chance to see it.

You can find out more about John Devlin and our book project at www.novacantabrigiensis.ca