What a Machine!
2024
Client: Finnish Agricultural Museum Sarka
The exhibition tells the story of the mechanization of Finnish agriculture from the early 20th century to the present day. At the start of the project, the museum had an established concept for the exhibition with its various thematic sections. The overall exhibition and the shaping and selection of content were developed in close collaboration with the museum throughout the project.
The exhibition space is divided into three main sections: the field, the barn, and the machine hall. In the first space, the field, machines for soil preparation and sowing are displayed. In the red-painted barn, equipment for animal care is showcased, while the metal-clad machine hall presents the development of tractors over approximately a hundred years.
The exhibition’s material and color palette aimed to both reflect the farm environment and provide space for the colorful and striking agricultural machines. The primary colors of the space are relatively neutral and muted. For the frames of the exhibition texts, an eye-catching color was chosen to help visitors locate the texts amidst the large machines. Bright orange was selected, a color closely related to the dominant hues of the machines but rarely present on the machines themselves.
The amount of text in the exhibition was kept reasonable and accessible, ensuring even hurried visitors could read them. The number and length of the texts were refined in collaboration with the museum. From the outset, the museum planned to use a digital text system, enabling concise text delivery. Some images were presented as large lightboxes, serving as lighting and showcasing the machines in their original usage environments.
The exhibition architecture and graphic design were closely integrated throughout the process, forming an inseparable whole. The exhibition's visual design was created in collaboration with graphic designer Astala. The tractor simulator was implemented by Modify, and the multimedia installations were produced by Magis Multimedia.
Process
