TARTAN V&A DUNDEE

Exhibition Design

I was involoved in Tartan exhibition design while working at Plaid. This is the first in-house exhibition held in V&A Dundee. The theme which seems to us consistent throughout this story is an oscillation of the cultural meaning of Tartan. That meaning is constantly changing throughout the exhibition according to its context; from playful to serious, from disruptive to conformist, from oppressor to oppressed, from loud to quiet, from special to every-day, from abstract to visceral.

I assisted with Stages 1-4 of this project. Designing case layouts, creating digital and physical models, visuals, technical drawings, and prototyping.

In plan (2D) - Strong, rigid structure

Visually the content for Tartan is strong. It’s important that the exhibition architecture supports the content without competing with it.

We propose an exhibition architecture which is rigidly organised through a tartan/grid but which, in practice, will allow a great deal of flexibility. The sobriety of the grid will contrast with the physicality of the exhibition.

In space (3D) - Totally mutable support

The 3D Grid structure sitting in the center of the space works as a functional system, offering multiple ways of display, flatwork/showcase. It's also a strong architectural language that exists throughout the whole exhibition to unify different contents. The use of scrim and timber frame creates permeability and builds a connection between each section.

Market table support

Relic showcase support

Inspired by Scottish landscape, we have created a series of "grid support" to reinforce the concept of Tartan through fruniture.

In "Identity" section, colour block becoming the boundaries that define each subsections, the colour itself also represent the content. For example, we choosing khaki for "Diaspora" to convey the feeling of migration and desert. Different colour blocks also give this whole area a sense of variety and drama.