The Order of Things
The purpose of a museum is to collect and care for objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and make them available for public viewing. Many of the artefacts collected never make it to the galleries or are shown for just a short period of time before being returned to their slumber in the museum's store rooms.
However, the function of the museum is more than just the display of objects. These artefacts - often priceless and deemed to be of great cultural value - are restored, treated, studied and catalogued. They are kept not only for our benefit but also for that of future generations.
This project focuses on the various secure storage areas of the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff and speaks about the order and structure (both physical and organisational) necessary to manage such a huge and varied collection and suggests that museums serve as an example of how we, as humans, attempt to categorise and arrange our lives, ideas and opinions.
The photos allow us to see how the items are stored yet we are denied a view of the objects themselves, which reinforces the distance between the viewer and these hidden cultural treasures.
However, the function of the museum is more than just the display of objects. These artefacts - often priceless and deemed to be of great cultural value - are restored, treated, studied and catalogued. They are kept not only for our benefit but also for that of future generations.
This project focuses on the various secure storage areas of the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff and speaks about the order and structure (both physical and organisational) necessary to manage such a huge and varied collection and suggests that museums serve as an example of how we, as humans, attempt to categorise and arrange our lives, ideas and opinions.
The photos allow us to see how the items are stored yet we are denied a view of the objects themselves, which reinforces the distance between the viewer and these hidden cultural treasures.