Together with scenographer
Lien Wauters, Unfold was
responsible for the design of 'Bonaparte at the Scheldt' an
exhibition at the
MAS
Museum in Antwerp. Unfold also supplied curational
assistance in order to translate the list of ±200 historical
art pieces and artefacts into a coherent exhibition, and acted as
the main contractor for all the
interactive and
dynamic content, from concept and design to execution.
Together with
scenographer
Lien
Wauters, Unfold was responsible for the design of 'Bonaparte at
the Scheldt' an exhibition at the
MAS Museum in
Antwerp. Unfold also supplied curational assistance in order
to translate the list of ±200 historical art pieces and
artefacts into a coherent exhibition, and acted as the main
contractor for all the
interactive and
dynamic content, from concept and design to execution.
From 1794 to 1814 Antwerp found itself under French rule. This
brief period had a considerable impact on the city and on the lives
of its inhabitants. Napoleon Bonaparte gave a crucial role to
Antwerp within his plans of European conquest. The city was to
become his empire’s most important military port, and
everything would change as a result. Following two lean centuries,
the port regained its influence in world trade. It flourished and
expanded. The exhibition ‘Bonaparte at the Scheldt’ at
the
MAS | Museum Aan de
Stroom pieces this extraordinary legacy together using
paintings, prints, maps, model ships and archive records from
collections of -amongst others- Louvre, Versailles, Fondation
Napoléon, V&A. The two large docks next to the MAS, the
Bonaparte Dock and Willem Dock, are significant remnants of the
period under Napoleon.
The winning proposal by Wauters and Unfold is based on the reuse
and appropriation of the previous exhibition's scenography,
normally scheduled to be taken down. This existing space is
approached in a similar fashion as to how Napoleons city planners
intervened in the city of Antwerp. Sections are raised to create
open spaces, lanes cut through existing rooms to allow for new
perspectives and routings, walls stripped to reveal the structure
of the original museum walls. The addition of industrial
scaffolding refers to a city under reconstruction and a ship-warf
but the dutch word for scaffolding -stelling- also refers to a
fortification, an allusion on Napoleons grand intentions for the
city of Antwerp.
fig. 01: photography by Sarah Blee
fig. 02-14: photography by Kristof Vrancken
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