ancient lives

studioplusthree were commissioned to design the Powerhouse Museum’s major 2016 summer exhibition, in collaboration with the British Museum. The exhibition consisted of a significant object loan from the BM, and featured latest-technology interactive CT scans of the mummies to allow visitors to discover the hidden secrets of mummification and gain an insight into the everyday lives of ancient Egyptians. Architectural exaggerations of space heighten the experience of visitors, such as a double-height ‘transition’ space whose converging walls create a psychological break with the outside world.

The exhibition creates physical and visual connections between spaces, giving glimpses and passages across spaces throughout. With a palette of deep blues, turquoises and pale whites, the exhibition seeks to present the content in an evocative but understated manner. The visitor journey is informed by subtle shifts in colour palette, supported by large-scale background images that to give context to the collection. A carefully controlled approach to lighting was employed to both conserve and highlight key moments and objects throughout the exhibition, creating a symbolic transition from the present to the past.