Cultivating nature – construction and interpretation of animals and landscapes at the Zoological museum in Oslo Elise Matilde Lund Nasjonalbiblioteket Epost: elise.matilde@gmail.com Inspired by Donna Haraway and a post-constructivist history of science, I wish to explore the making of animals and landscapes in one of the exhibitions at the Zoological museum in Oslo. The exhibition was made in the 1970s and is still a part of the permanent displays. Walking upwards on a tilting floor and following a narrative line, visitors are presented with the Norwegian flora and fauna through habitat dioramas, an exhibition technique with its roots in the esthetic and technological development of taxidermy in the nineteenth century. Stating that natural history displays are neither timeless nor neutral, I will explain the circumstances under which the exhibition was made. Political, cultural and social influences are visible in the diorama constructions and I want to show how different interpretations of nature are an integrated part of the exhibition’s expression.
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