The Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s museum has loaned two “mystery”
objects to a new exhibition at the Museum of the Unknown which gives visitors
the opportunity to identify and label them using museum cataloguing methods.
Based in part of the Oxo Tower on London’s South Bank, the Museum of the
Unknown provides a regularly changing exhibition space where artists explore
the notion of a “museum” as a lively interactive environment with
an ongoing programme of events.
When approached by the exhibition co-ordinators, the Society’s museum curatorial
staff chose to loan two early 20th century objects for display in Victorian
showcases alongside “mystery” objects from institutions such as the
Science Museum and the British Museum. Members of the Society may wish to pay
a visit to test their knowledge and see if they can identify the objects.
As well as the mystery objects, visitors can see displays of “spirit”
photographs, installations inspired by “miracles” such as the weeping
Madonna statue, a “cursed” crystal skull, and a “Test your DNA”
machine.
The exhibition is free and will run until February 18, 2001. Details of opening
hours can be obtained from the Museum of the Unknown, The Bargehouse, Oxo Tower
Wharf, Bargehouse Street, South Bank, London, SE1 9PH (tel 020 7928 1255; e-mail
themuseumof@coin-street.org).