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The three facets of Glen Henderson's Mini-Museum oriented themselves around the architecture of a bug. The artist constructed an analogy between the bug or the natural world and the metamorphic possibi lities of contemporary architecture and design; there was also a soupr;on of humour in relation to the Y2K bug, one suspects. In MiniMuseum, Henderson highl ighted the possibilities for fluid and evolving design to operate at both the level of materials employed and the dynamics of building in the contemporary world. In this three-part assault on the bug, Henderson utilised the semi-public spaces of the Institute of Modern Art's Ann Street window, the Craft Queensland Ivory Street window and Satellite Studio 17, thereby reaching out to three somewhat varied audiences. As all of the premises are within a stone's throw or so of each other, there were also easy possibilities for eo-relating the three installations. The IMA harboured the red textile bug suitquite amusingly-high in its front window, Craft Queensland gave shelter to a small installation of black carved bugs and laminated wood ca rcasses, while Satellite 17 hosted an installation of white slip cast clay bugs on transparent shelves. Notably, all three works favoured natural materials.
Mini-Museum is a further investigation in Henderson's ongoing exploration of the interface between the social body and the design of public spaces. These latest enterprises articulate lucid ly, with Henderson's work now operating in the cracks between art, design and architecture. This interest was developed tellingly in 'T ekhne', the artists + architects exhibition and forum of 1999 which was conceived by Henderson and held at the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. Architect and academic, John McDonald, applauded the initiative behind Tekhne