This exhibit of African masks was designed in close collaboration with Holstebro Kunstmuseum, with the aim of bringing life back into the collection.

Dynamism and ceremony

The exhibit seeks to break from the conventional method of displaying African masks in a dark and static setting. The driving element of the design was to reintroduce the notion of the crowd, of movement, and of the human body that would have been present during the ceremonies these masks were used in.

Bent steel poles suspend a group of masks in the center of the frame. These represent the dynamic performers in the ceremony, while the masks mounted to wall represent the crowd. While looking in, the viewer becomes a member of this crowd.