Cabinet of Wonders
Recent
The Cabinet of Wonders
Devised and curated by Ian Wieczorek, a series of exhibitions at Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, Ireland, using three display cabinets situated in the public foyer of a busy local arts centre.
The project was initiated in June 2016, and its six iterations ran until August 2018.
Cabinets of Curiosities, also known as Kunstkabinette or Wunderkammern, were collections of unusual objects which offered insights into the rich and often curious diversity of the natural world and beyond, spanning everything from antiquities and religious relics to natural ‘freaks’, medical curiosities and other uncategorisable items.
Inspired by the empirical approach of Classical thinkers such as Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, Cabinets of Curiosities found their beginnings in the time of the Renaissance. Initially seen as both edifying and as markers of status for their collector-curators, they offered a cocktail of learning and entertainment. Such Cabinets remained a mostly exclusive preserve of the rich and influential, until in the 19 century the likes of showman PT Barnum’s American Museum introduced a more public and often sensationalist sensibility.
While the fashion for Cabinets of Curiosities no longer holds popular currency (with a few notable exceptions), they paved the way for the more formal and rigorous museum model that we are familiar with today.
Taking its inspiration from the Cabinet of Curiosities, The Cabinet of Wonders presents a series of objects mined from the creative imagination of a selection of contemporary visual artists. Inspired by the eclectic approach of the original collector-curators, it presents a range of works that will hopefully intrigue and engage the passing viewer.
Inspired by the empirical approach of Classical thinkers such as Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, Cabinets of Curiosities found their beginnings in the time of the Renaissance. Initially seen as both edifying and as markers of status for their collector-curators, they offered a cocktail of learning and entertainment. Such Cabinets remained a mostly exclusive preserve of the rich and influential, until in the 19 century the likes of showman PT Barnum’s American Museum introduced a more public and often sensationalist sensibility.
While the fashion for Cabinets of Curiosities no longer holds popular currency (with a few notable exceptions), they paved the way for the more formal and rigorous museum model that we are familiar with today.
Taking its inspiration from the Cabinet of Curiosities, The Cabinet of Wonders presents a series of objects mined from the creative imagination of a selection of contemporary visual artists. Inspired by the eclectic approach of the original collector-curators, it presents a range of works that will hopefully intrigue and engage the passing viewer.
- Ian Wieczorek, text, 2016
Cabinet catalogues (links to ISSUU, popup windows):