Hemisphere

This exhibition at Imperial War Museum North was
the first event by IWM in over 50 years devoted to the work of women artists.

The content sought to explore not just the artworks,
but also the experiences of women artists in various conflicts throughout the 20th century, from the First World War to Kosovo. The exhibition design had to effectively display the art, which ranged from painting to photography and moving imagery, as well as communicating the artists' personal stories, including their own thoughts on the opportunities and constraints of their role. The underlying message was that women war artists were as much 'in the thick of it' as their male counterparts, whether it be in the ravages of the London Blitz or embedded in the front line of the Falklands War.

Physically, there were a number of challenges to meet, not least of which is the unusual spatial geometry of the Daniel Libeskind-designed gallery at IWMN, which varies in ceiling height from 4m to 10m and eschews right angles in favour of angled and curved walls and floors. On top of that, there were a large number of object cases in the display walls that needed to be cost-effectively covered in order to create sufficient hanging space for the artworks.

The design solution was to use rough-hewn timber surfaces to create what looked like boarded-up, damaged areas, but painting them white to allow for more reflective viewing of the artworks. This rough timber feel was then added to by printing all the artists' personal story panels directly onto wooden surfaces, enhancing the slightly gritty feel.