This is something I wrote for a project we have been set at university in preparation for our degree show. The project was to create three proposals based on our current practice but without considering money, time or space constraints. This is the first of my proposals:
Maps show us the way. Maps in galleries show us the directions to a piece of work, a particular room in the gallery or in which order we are encouraged to view the work. The later is more common in exhibitions of specific artists, such as the map pictured to the right showing the recent exhibition of Pipilotti Rist’s work at the Hayward gallery.
The gallery, according to Pontus Hultèn, is a space to be traversed. There is a tradition of the gallery as a place to stroll and become immersed in the work that the gallery map contradicts. I would change this by placing my own altered versions of gallery maps within galleries, amongst their own, or even replacing them altogether. The altered map would differ from the original in a few ways, depending on the nature of the gallery and the map. A proposed route would be changed, or the numbers indicating the position of a piece of work would become letters or numbers that do not correspond with the numbers next to the text. Room numbers would be changed and the maps original purpose would not be fulfilled. Instead, there would be concentration on the work within the gallery and a stronger sense of exploration and discovery.
I’m not sure that this is something that I wish to pursue anymore, but it has got me started on thinking about work I can make from the research that I have been doing.
