Postmodernism at V&A  
Exhibition Design at V&A Museum, Shortlisted 
London / United Kingdom

Collaboration with Studio Myerscough

Client: V&A Museum

Team: Karsten Huneck, Bernd Truempler, Morag Myerscough

The idea of the exhibition is to examine style as attitude as a key element of postmodern practice and experience.

The central thesis of the show is that Postmodernism can be understood as a set of liberating strategies to express identity in an age of rapid commodification. The overall approach of the exhibition design is to work with steps and level changes. This additive character reflects not only the attitude of the time, it also gives us the opportunity to visually separate objects where necessary in order to keep their individualism. At the same time the levels can also work as a unifying element for a group of objects by creating larger platforms, almost like a stage.

The atmosphere of the dropped lighting/ceiling in the North Court works like an inverted level and helps to create a typical low height “club” impression. This can be even more reinforced by reducing head height by stepping up in this area. Visitors become part of the exhibition by wandering along the path, finding themselves in-between the synthetic identities, crossing the material world.