1. Curatorial Power and the Deconstruction of “Sanctified” Spaces

At the Oslo National Museum, The Scream is exhibited in an isolated, spotlighted gallery, surrounded by other artworks, with a bench and LEGO bricks placed at its center. This layout resonates with Terry Smith’s concept of exhibition as an affective field, where isolation amplifies the work’s tragedy while simultaneously constructing a hierarchy of gaze—positioning the audience as passive recipients and the artwork as an untouchable relic.

Ana Bilbao Yarto critiques this power structure, arguing that traditional museums reinforce curatorial authority through spatial design (e.g., linear pathways, unilateral narratives), marginalizing individual audience experiences. While The Scream’s isolated display intensifies its atmosphere of anxiety, it ultimately inhibits dialogical engagement. Under the spotlight, the painting functions like an altar; the LEGO bricks, seemingly interactive, serve merely as decorative elements within a controlled sacred space. This paradox exposes the illusion of accessibility in traditional exhibitions: they claim openness yet remain exclusionary, promoting education while enforcing discipline.

In my exhibition, I will dismantle this hierarchical spatiality by implementing decentralized curatorial strategies—transforming spectators into co-authors of the narrative.

2. Curatorial Reflection: From The Scream to an Emotional Laboratory in a Bar

The Spatial Constraints of The Scream’s Display

At the Oslo National Museum, The Scream is mounted against a dark wall, with a spotlight illuminating the canvas. The exhibition pathway is divided by a bench, separating the space into a “contemplation zone” for adults and a “interactive zone” for children. While this design reinforces the painting’s sense of solitude through spatial isolation, it simultaneously disrupts the continuity of emotional resonance. The LEGO bricks, intended as a participatory element, function under regulated interactivity—permitting physical engagement but restricting any real agency in meaning-making.

Curatorial Proposal: Reconstructing Intimacy at The Tap Bar

For my exhibition, I will repurpose The Tap Bar—a space embedded with personal memory and social intimacy—to subvert conventional exhibition logic:

◊Projection as Spatial Palimpsest: Re-contextualizing Classic Art

Selected fragments from canonical artworks will be projected onto mirrors, tables, and bar shelves, disrupting the traditional museum setting:

1. Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss– Enlarged golden lines and entwined lovers, projected onto the bar counter, symbolizing the entanglement and intoxication of intimacy.
2. Frida Kahlo’s The Two Fridas– The connected arteries between two hearts magnified and projected beneath the bar, requiring viewers to bend down to see it, metaphorizing vulnerability and dependence in relationships.
3. Sophie Calle’s Take Care of Yourself– Excerpts from breakup letters will appear as scrolling text at the bottom of drinking glasses, visible only when the drink is finished.

♠Participatory Installation: “The Gaze of the Present”

Inspired by Marina Abramović’s The Artist is Present, this installation invites anonymous, intimate storytelling:

“Anonymous Dialogue Booth”– Two high stools separated by a translucent fabric curtain in a dimly lit corner. Two participants can sit, listening to pre-recorded anonymous stories about intimacy through headphones. They can then write a response on sticky notes and attach them to the curtain, forming a textual palimpsest of voices.

Ethical Considerations:

• Participants sign consent forms clarifying that their recordings will be destroyed after the exhibition.
• Sticky notes remain anonymous to protect identity.