Making Data by Gwilt Ian;

Author:Gwilt, Ian;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Figure 7.2 The interaction with My Roman Pantheon (from top left): collecting the lamp from Juno’s shrine; in the museum offering a light; back at the shrine returning the lamp and collecting the ‘oracle’; four different personalised postcards. Images: Daniela Petrelli/Nick Dulake.

Case study 3: A matter of perspective

‘The Hague and the Atlantic Wall: War in the City of Peace’ was a temporary exhibition at MUSEON in The Hague (the Netherlands) visited by about 40,000 people over a period of 6 months.4 The exhibition explored the impact of the Atlantic Wall structure on the city of The Hague and the people living there, and what it meant for the identity of the city after the war. The Atlantic Wall was a defensive system built by the Nazis in the Second World War along the north coast of continental Europe to defend it against possible attacks by the Allies. During the German occupation, a third of the city of The Hague was demolished to make space for the Wall and the Nazi headquarters. Civilians were evacuated and displaced, their houses demolished; deep trenches, walls and checkpoints were built. After the war the defensive structure was dismantled and in its place was built the Peace Quarter with UN institutions and the International Court of Justice.

The exhibition had eleven stations representing the quarters of the city affected by the Wall, for example, how the beach became a mined field and why the Peace Quarter was built. Objects on display, labels and panels provided specific content while an eight-min introductory film gave an overview; a few multimedia stations had a quiz game and videos-on-demand. Finally, a wall-sized carousel of historical photos in the background set the atmosphere.

The curatorial team wanted to also include an optional interactive experience so that visitors not wishing to interact could still understand the main points and appreciate the exhibition by simply reading the panels and looking at the exhibits. The interactive experience had to offer something unique, that is to say, not a rephrasing of the content in the panels on a different medium, but a special, richer and personal experience mediated by tangible yet digital interaction. To complement the curatorial tone of the exhibition, the interactive elements were designed to reveal three personal perspectives of those involved in the events during the Second World War: how the German soldiers believed they were defending the Dutch population from the Allays; how the civilians were displaced, resisted and resented the occupation; and how the civil servants dealt with doing the bid of the German occupiers.

While the physical exhibition recounted the historical facts, the digital interaction offered three personal points of view as themes running through. At each station/city-quarter, visitors could listen to one or all of the three perspectives presented as personal stories (e.g. excerpts from diaries), newspaper and radio material (e.g. German propaganda), satirical songs or video archival material. Each point of view was represented by a replica of an object used in everyday life in the Second World War.

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