LYME Regis fossil hunter Mary Anning is helping to change perceptions of women in science 170 years after her death.

A photographer and a group of women scientists who call themselves the Trowelblazers have crowdfunded more than £11,000 to put on an exhibition starting on February 1 called Raising Horizons in Burlington House in London.

Burlington House is the home of the Geological Society - a society Mary Anning was not allowed to join in her lifetime despite being the first to discover a complete fossil ichthyosaurus, or fish-lizard, in a cliff near her Dorset home in the early 1800s.

Freelance photographer Leonora Saunders, who came up with the idea for the exhibition, recreated Mary's image using 21st century dinosaur expert and Natural History Museum senior earth sciences curator Dr Lorna Steel as her model.

Leonora said: "Pretty much all of my work looks at women's inequality and how I can change the way women are represented, looking at role models and shining a light on women in more unusual roles."

A combination of wanting to be creative, loving history, being inspired by the women featured and being bored by finding walls full of 'middle-aged white men' represented in the most institutions led to the desire to really bring the women to life, she said.

"The idea was to photograph the women who were working in the sciences and pose them by a contemporary counterpart so there was a nice link.

"It is very much a window onto these forgotten lives."

Although the crowdfunder reached its target for the London exhibition it is continuing so it can go on tour.

Trowelblazer Becky Wragg Sykes said: "We are discussing hosting with various organisations, including the Lyme Regis Museum, in combination with the Lyme Fossil Festival.

"However, all are dependent on us being able to fund costs for bringing the exhibition to these venues, about £1,000 each.

"The exhibition brings together stars of the ‘trowel-wielding’ sciences – archaeology, geology, and palaeontology Posed by leading contemporary women, each image meticulously recreates moments from the lives of their historic

counterparts, some of the greatest British women in science over two centuries.

"Raising Horizons aims to show that women pioneers have always been part of archaeology and the earth sciences, despite their popular image as the domain of bearded, and often white, men.

"The captivating portrait of 19th century Mary Anning, the world’s greatest 'fossil hunter' is based on a little known contemporary sketch, showing her in working clothes, complete with top hat and hammer.

"The new portrait also has a canine guest star, standing in for her beloved dog Tray, tragically killed in 1833 while she was fossil collecting.

"Her modern counterpart is Dr Lorna Steel a specialist in pterosaurs, one of the winged Jurassic reptiles first found

by Mary Anning."

If anyone is interested in hosting the exhibition they can contact Leonara on leonora@leonorasaunders.co.uk

or 07825 500652, or Becky on 0033 602636524 or rwraggsykes@gmail.com

To help the exhibition come to Lyme go to indiegogo.com/projects/raising-horizons-200-years-oftrowelblazing-

women-photography--2#/