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Behind The Scenes At The Museum

Alexis Beckett, Jessie Borrell, Daniel Dorall, Eleanna Elliott, Cecilia Fogelberg, Isobel Frances Harper, Emma van Leest, Alasdair Macintyre, Anna-Maria O’Keefe, Narinda Reeders, Steven Rendall, Kate Rohde, Tristan Stowards, Glen Walls, Kit Wise

Curator: Christine Morrow

Simon Gregg
Eyeline 63
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Setting out to posit museum display systems as an engaging concern for contemporary visual artists, ‘Behind the Scenes at the Museum’ was a complex, animated and at times overwhelming exhibition. Bringing on board a cast of fifteen young but established artists, each of whom employed narrative, miniaturisation and aspects of the diorama in their practice, curator Christine Morrow sought to demonstrate a relationship between scientific, artefact laden museum displays, and the sparse, sterile displays of art galleries.

In this exhibition Morrow tapped into a rich new vein of contemporary visual concern, and deserves recognition for doing so. Upon the evidence of this showing, it seems entirely feasible that many artists today are, at least superficially, moved by questions of authenticity, spatial illusions, spectacle and extraneous materials, such as wall labels, plinths and showcases. However, in spite of this hugely fascinating and potentially rewarding central thesis, the exhibition represented something of a missed opportunity for not having capitalised on its central idea.

While it is true that each of the artists, without exception, has proven the immense possibilities of combining art with artefact—stepping beyond the parameters of their own art pieces to consider the context of the museum/gallery as a whole—the exhibition fell flat through curatorial timidity. An idea as conceptually physical as this demanded a presentation with physicality to match. What was offered instead was a seemingly arbitrary arrangement of art objects, basic home-made labels and a dearth of consideration for what was in fact the core concern of the exercise: exhibition display and interpretive systems.

Breaking free from their curatorial straightjacket artists Daniel Dorall and Anna-Maria O’Keefe animated fabricated sections of earth by introducing narrative. Both artists were featured