Assignment: Scenography for temporary exhibition

In Rogue Agents of History the Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour combines film and art to examine identity and memory through a mix of history and fiction, while suggesting new future perspectives.

The objects that play a role in the films reappear physically in the museum. Artworks, film props, and historical objects from Wereldmuseum and Scheepvaartmuseum are brought together in a layered display. The dark, petrol-toned environment connects the films and objects and creates a slightly alienating atmosphere.

Curators: Nat Muller, Sarah Johnson

Artists: Larissa Sansour, Søren Lind

Graphic design: Kathrin Hero

Video/sound: Indyvideo, Floor van Dongen

Light: Heinz Loopstra

Construction: Kloosterboer

Prints: RiwiCollotype

Photography: Aad Hoogendoorn

Assignment: Spatial design for temporary exhibition

The design of this exhibition is inspired by action comics. The dynamic motion lines that typically highlight the power and speed of superheroes form a bold graphic backdrop for archaeological objects. Boven het Maaiveld brings together the most striking and high-profile discoveries from 25 years of Dutch archaeology. The oversized “swooshes” emphasize the impact of each object and highlight their unique value – historical, scientific, monetary or deeply emotional, as seen in the personal belongings from Camp Westerbork.

Graphic design: Kathrin Hero

Construction: Koert Verberne | Wall prints: Watjeziet | Graphics: Riwi ColloType

Object mounting: Marianne Inkelaar, Mark de Graaff | AV: StudioShosho | Technical support: Technodesk

Photography Mike Bink, Kathrin Hero

Assignment: Design for permanent exhibition

The history of the Ancient Middle East spans thousands of years and stretches across millions of square kilometers. How do you bring such a rich and complex region to life in just 100m²?

The redesigned exhibition highlights how everything changes depending on your perspective. Each region is represented by a unique color code, revealed through filters that create new color patterns. I transformed the former exhibition into a new layout by reusing over 90% of the materials from the previous setup. The central podium was re-cut along diagonal lines, creating dynamic, and sharp-edged new sections. These pieces were rearranged to create a more dynamic and engaging floor plan. This redesign demonstrates how existing materials can be reimagined to create something new and meaningful.

Graphic design: Sarah Saleh

Maps: Kathrin Hero

AV production: Robbert Klein

Construction: Produkt Interieurbouw

Print: Riwi Collotype

Photography: Mike Bink

Assignment: Spatial design for temporary exhibition

“Paestum, City of Goddesses” celebrates the ancient beauty of Paestum and its goddesses. At the heart of the exhibition is a 90-meter-long sky panorama that showcases the Italian skies in various weather conditions, from the hues of a sunrise to the dramatic clouds of a thunderstorm. This dynamic backdrop serves as a visual metaphor for the passage of time, the cyclical nature of life, and the divine influence that has shaped Paestum’s rich history and culture.

As visitors stroll through the exhibition, they will discover the ancient city of Paestum, once known as Poseidonia, a thriving Greek colony dedicated to the worship of ancient goddesses such as Hera, Athena, and Artemis.

The sky serves as a celestial canvas, reflecting the divine and ethereal qualities associated with these goddesses. Silhouetted against the sky panorama, the pieces of art are shown in their timeless beauty and invite visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the city’s religious practices and enduring legacy.

Graphic design: Kathrin Hero

Construction: Maquette Atelier

Sky print: Watjeziet

Prints: Riwi Collotype

Intro AV: Shosho

Photography Mike Bink

April 25 – August 25 2024

Assignment: concept and 3d design for temporary exhibition

How should Julius Caesar – a white, male, dominant conqueror – be staged in today’s museum? The first exhibition in H’ART museum – formerly known as Hermitage Amsterdam – tries to unravel the myths and reality around Caesar, with its highlights and its dark sides.

The exhibition design aims to shed a new light on the controversial hero by treating Caesar like a brand, comparable to global products like Coca-Cola. The use of advertisement aesthetics with scaffolding, banners, blow-ups and illuminated letters evokes a certain irony and creates distance to the historical subject.

The six-meter-tall theatrical scenery emphasizes the intimidating grandeur of Caesar. The distinct choice of materials and intentional differences in scale reflect the intrinsic contradictions of “Caesar” the brand. Rough metal versus soft banners, contemporary scaffold versus age-old marble statues. This approach invites visitors to form new opinions on a complex historical character.

Graphic design by Glamcult Studio, Marline Bakker – scaffold by Interstage – light letters by welovecolor.nl – banners by PPS Imaging – prints by Riwi Collotype – photography by Mike Bink

RMO recently acquired a collection of those miniature masterpieces and asked Archetypisch to design a treasury-like room that underlines their uniqueness and exceptionally high quality.

Like the gems themselves, the space is built up in layers of light and dark. White glass panels are framing black showcases displaying the cameos. The panels resemble antique marble but couldn’t be more contemporary: The glass is made of 100% recycled glass waste and can be returned to the glass production cycle after use.

To bring out the relationship between the jewellery and the human body, Archetypisch commissioned Scheltens & Abbenes to make a clip for the exhibition. The models are not from flesh and bones though, it’s the antique sculptures collection of the museum who are the mannequins for the shoot. The bright marble skin carrying the luxurious jewels creates the ambiance of ultimate beauty and glamour.

Spatial design & film concept Archetypisch | Graphic design Esther de Vries | Film Scheltens & Abbenes | Light Chris Pype | Construction Fiction factory | Showcases Glascom | Installation AV Technodesk | Glass panels Magna Glaskeramik | Prints Riwi Collotype

Photography Mike Bink

November 2022

Project: Spatial design for temporary exhibition

Byblos is a major exhibition about the world’s most ancient port in Lebanon. Five hundred objects from the collections of various internationally renowned museums are bearing witness to Byblos’ archaeological and cultural richness. The town situated on the coast of present-day Lebanon played an extraordinary role in the Mediterranean and Middle East from 3000 BC, thanks to the trade in cedar wood. The exposition is designed as a pop-up book, featuring a collection of famous tales from antiquity that took place in or near Byblos. The tales are illustrated by Karst-Janneke Rogaar. Gods and inhabitants of Byblos and the cedar trees are cut-out in life-size and bring the city to life.

Graphic design by Kathrin Hero, illustrations by Karst-Janneke Rogaar

Construction by Koert Verberne en Bouwko Landstra, panel production by Heijmerink Wagemakers

Cedar wood scent by the Snifferoo

Photo 4, 6 and 12  by Kathrin Hero, photographs 7, 9, 11, 13-15, 17 by Arie de Leeuw

October 2022 – March 2023

Project: Spatial design for temporary exhibition

A selection of 25 scientific books that influence our lives until today: Galilei, Boerhaave, Linnaeus, Einstein, Doesburg and many more. All books have a strong connection with the academic history of the city of Leiden and its university library. The universal meaning and value of the books is reflected in the exhibition design that treats the objects like jewels: perfectly lit and displayed in a blue surrounding, their appearance and visions still fill us with wonder.

Graphic design: Kathrin Hero

Banners: Riwi Collo Type, book mounts by Bouwko Landstra en Koert Verberne

Photography Mike Bink

In collaboration with UB Leiden

Project: Spatial design for temporary exhibition

Centre piece of the exhibition on the Flemish Baroque painter Jacob Jordaens is the reconstruction of his show room which used to be in his house in Antwerp. For the first time the nine ceiling paintings are shown in Holland in a reconstruction with a temporary twist: Jordaens wanted to overwhelm his clients with a richly decorated room, we added the mirrorfloor for an immersive experience. The mirrorfloor creates a fascinating new perspective on the ceiling paintings and activates visitors immediately to engage with the room and the artworks.

Paintings on loan from Phoebus Foundation, Antwerp

Graphic design by Kathrin Hero, built by Fiction Factory, wall prints by Watjeziet, light by 50lux, art handling by aorta.be

Photography Arie de Leeuw, Anika Ohlerich. last picture Frouke de Leeuw

October 15 2021 – May 8 2022

Project: Spatial design for temporary exhibition

The exhibition Temples of Malta presents Malta’s rich prehistoric culture, a world of temples, tombs and mysterious stone figures. We look back to these ancient times (3600-2500 BC) using contemporary high-tech: Robot cameras hovering over the temple models on eye-level create a monumental live projection that gives the impression of walking through the actual sites.

Another live camera zooms in on one of the so called ‘fat ladies’, enlarging her prehistoric face and underlining the universal and timeless quality of human features.

Visual backbone of the exhibition are the wall banners in a color gradient from dark to light red ochre, the pigment found in tombs and on the stone figures.

Concept and spatial design: Archetypisch

Graphic design: Esther de Vries

Robot camera installation: Uif Putters

Graphic production: Riwi Collotype

Colour gradient by Rosa de Kruif