Explorations into our collections of design, applied arts, and craft within the exhibition are built on the principle of a dialogue of the works. We allow pairs or triplets of artefacts to converse in unison, whether it be in tension, in harmony, or in ambivalence. We select masterpieces and objects from the back shelves of our repositories, we reach for progressive works, and we give a voice to uncomfortable, controversial artefacts.
We look for a visual and semantic spark between them. As carriers of information about the collection's events and personalities, design and artistic quality, symbolism and provenance, these works will be encountered in a variety of contexts – as elements of visual culture, economic practice, significant historical events, and common social and societal situations, and as political art. Rich digital content also enables them to be studied in far greater depth.
