26. Displaying my Work

Displaying my Work

I decided to take inspiration from museums in the way that they present their works of art in ways that are often clinical, well presented and sometimes interactive. I decided that I would like to present my insects without protection, allowing the viewer to view them as close - up as they would like. This will allow them to realise that the insects are real, and give a sense of intimacy and trust between the viewer and the piece of art.

I decided to use a cabinet to display all of my small pieces. The majority of them are small and delicate, meaning that they fit neatly and safely inside the cabinet drawers. I enjoy the idea that the viewer must interact with the piece to get the full experience. That adds a level of intimacy and interest that you cannot gain simply by looking at a piece of art. I labelled it to make it CLEAR that I want people to open the drawers.

I roughly plotted the contents of the drawers.

These layouts may not be permanent, although, they are an example of how the viewer will see the drawers. From above, from a birds eye view.

I find that placing the small pieces inside a drawer makes them look much bigger than they really are, which gives them more dominance. If they were simply placed on a shelf or on a wall, they would have had no dominance at all as they would have seemed incredibly small.

I made sure to place my cabinet near a window, beside natural lighting. Natural lighting is important as it helps to illuminate the crystals.

The top of the cabinet will be suitable for displaying my other pieces - the wooden crystals, the plaster skulls and the pieces that I have grown crystals on that do not fit inside the cabinet. The top of the cabinet will be a "sneak preview" of what is inside, although there will be no clear giveaways. I intend to entice the viewer into opening the drawers themselves.

For the empty wall above, I will be displaying some of the most successful photographs of this project. I do not want them to be displayed clinically or neatly. The photographs needn't all be the same size. I would like the photographs to spread across the wall like a crystal formation, which is geometric but random.

A little bit like this.

I have INTENTIONALLY left my pieces nameless, as I do not think they need names, and pieces in natural museums do not have individual names.

I do not want viewers' opinions to be suayed by names, because names can be deciphered and names can put ideas in people's heads. I want the reactions from my viewers to be completely organic.

See next page for my evaluation of this project.