ALIGNED CHAIRS
The Bible Belt runs right through the Netherlands. The area owns its name from its many Reformed inhabitants a.k.a. ‘refo’s’. The exhibition Bij ons in de Biblebelt offers a view of the habitat and history of Dutch Reformism. It also shows the struggles of its religious inhabitants, addressing questions like how to cope with for example the internet, gay emancipation and other social developments. Films, interviews, objects from daily life, Orthodox writings, as well as art and photography offer the opportunity to meet the inhabitants of the Bible Belt and to get to know this unique and diverse group of people. And many did: with over 70.000 visitors the exhibition exceeded every expectation.
The design starts from the many photographs of Reformed church interiors that are part of the exhibition. More specifically it starts from the many remarkably different arrangements of simple chairs structuring those interiors. Now seating is often a bit of a subordinate topic in exhibition design. In this case, however, it appeared very suitable to make seating the major design element and to conceive the spatial layout of the exhibition purely as a specific arrangement of chairs.
The design continues with the Reformist notion of the straight or right road. As opposed to the crooked road, it offers a clear guide through life and through the exhibition. Flat, linear, black and white striped elements are fixed to the floor. Half road markers, half traffic barriers they align the chairs and structure space. See you in the Bible Belt…
