The exhibition presents a history of dentistry and our changing relationship to to our teeth. Over 150 individual objects are included in the show, ranging dramatically in scale from single teeth to a contemporary dentist’s chair and fully integrated digital treatment centre. This presented the first challenge; the second was to try to mitigate as much as possible the inherently anxiety-inducing nature of the content.
The display of small objects is broken up across seven tables. Each is different, designed as an assemblage of autonomous, exaggerated elements - cylinders, oblongs, cubes, slabs - with varying combinations of bright pastel colours. Groupings of some objects are displayed on thin metal trays fixed to the table-tops (in contrasting colours) - a device to prevent the smaller pieces from getting visually lost.
The overall impression that results is one of a playful and colourful composition, which loosely articulates and makes manageable the gallery space, while creating an atmosphere that counteracts that of the content.
- Location: London
- Completion: 2018
- For: Wellcome Collection
- Size: 300 m²
- Collaborators: Studio ZNA
- Photography: Antoine Espinasseau