Epistemic mutations: Material object engagement in exhibition making

The paper investigates how experimental design practices in pre-exhibition object handling can unfold the materially embedded knowledge production of museum objects. Even though material objects are recognized as key elements in museum practice, concerns for their specific material qualities, such as texture, color, weight, etc., seldom function as primary drivers during the curating and design phases in exhibition making. This is partly due to preservation issues – the fact that direct object handling must be limited – but is also a result of dominating textual practices. This paper argues that, if the materially embedded knowledge of museum objects is to be conveyed in an exhibition context, curators and designers must engage with the objects on material terms. Based on empirical analysis of a series of experimental object juxtapositions and display designs, the paper explores how experimental handling of material objects can unleash the experiential and tangible qualities of museum objects beyond the constraints of fixed, conceptual meaning. Sociologist Karin Knorr Cetina’s thoughts on epistemic practice will serve as an analytical framework for this investigation. Thus, the paper places epistemic theory in a museum practice context and relates it to processes of practice-based design research.