2017 Gallery
Award: Installation Design
studioplusthree for Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives
Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives brings six Egyptian mummies from the British Museum’s collection to the Powerhouse Museum, featuring interactive CT scans to reveal secrets of the mummies and their lives. The exhibition utilises techniques of colour, space, lighting and technology to bring this evocative ancient world to life.
Jury Citation
Egyptian Mummies at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum takes visitors on an emotive and highly experiential journey. Showcasing six Egyptian mummies from the British Museum’s collection, this temporary exhibition’s planning impressed the jury because it is simply sensational. A logical sequence of space flows from room to room, creating a sense of discovery, heightened by the dramatic play of light and dark, and the
use of rich immersive colour.
The jury was equally impressed by the installation’s strong atmospheric qualities and ability to talk of the human condition through the use of CT scans of mummies and full-height location photographs that evoke a sense of dry heat and dust. The central space unifies the exhibition and while there’s clear hierarchy to the overall display, smaller details are never diminished. There’s a lot of complex information to take in, but intelligent curating ensures the exhibition is easy to access. Each component, including the integrated digital technologies, has something to communicate to every visitor, making the exhibition compelling at both a micro and macro level.