The exhibition “Collecting Europe” has been created as a joint effort between the V&A and the Goethe Institute London. Twelve international artists have tried to imagine what Europe might look like 2000 years from now. The creation of the exhibition has been influenced by the debate about the future of Europe, Brexit and other events. (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2017)

The artworks were scattered throughout the whole museum, linked to the idea that Europe is currently losing its ideological, political and cultural unity. By viewing all the pieces, the viewer could see the exhibition and also get to know the museum itself. Most works could be seen or experienced – films, sculptures, a rug, posters, texts, music – while others were only available on only particular days – workshops, performances.

Each artwork was completely different but representative. For example, a work “EUROPA” by the IF and 00 had the idea of a continent not limited by borders or citizenship. This project – placed in the museum as a digital screen and a collection of texts – offered digital European citizenship to anyone. A noteworthy piece pointing to the dissolution of Europe was “EU, 2017” – an audial artwork by Remco Torenbosch. The artist had made the EU anthem destructed by recording and playing back every instrument separately.

The most interesting, masterful and creative work was “Enfolded World: Mysteries of Lost Civilisations” by Wei-Cheng. It was made like an archaeological dig – oxidized plates representing the idea of a time capsule. The questions raised were about the things that represent us and how they describe our lives.

Another work “A Song for Europe” by Thibaut de Ruyter was piles of posters showing symbols of songs that one can find by using a mobile phone scan app. It encompassed the idea of different languages that were spoken in Europe but did not seem relevant in comparison with other works. The same can be said of an artwork “Alabaster Ruins” by AVM Curiosities – a display with tiny sugar paste sculptures representing historical architectural pieces from the V&A’s collection. It reminded of the slave trade, sugar as commodity and was meant to point to the consumption of European culture but it did not make much sense in the whole idea of the exhibition.

One of the artworks “Let Me See It” by Rosa Barba was a film about a man losing his sight and trying to remember dodecahedron – a structure with 12 sides (the number of original EU states). The idea was that Europe is disappearing. Here it should be noted that the author looked subjectively at current events in Europe and asserted on the viewer to see changes as something negative.

To conclude the exhibition raised contrasting thoughts and emotions. Each artwork was well thought out but the works as a whole did not stand together with a common idea. The mix of works and ideas left the feeling of eclecticism. The subject matter of the exhibition was a little annoying as it is very topical at the moment and is being over analysed by everyone. The impossibility to effectively orientate oneself in the exhibition and to understand the artworks independently without a tour guide lessened the experience. It definitely diminished the number of exhibition viewers to a great extent. Besides it is not ideal to have to search the Internet for information afterwards just to understand approximately 9 pieces that could be seen because the rest were not available due to a limited viewing time.

List of references

Victoria and Albert Museum (2017) Collecting Europe Available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/collecting-europe (Accessed: 13 February 2017)