Circling Back Exhibition methods from a non-linear chronological perspective

Abstract

To exhibit chronologies can be a difficult undertaking – especially if the chronologies span millennia. This article is an effort to present an alternative method of exhibiting chronologies in museums by introducing a non-linear model. This model is based on the Eketorps Veckband by Swedish archaeologist Elin Engström and focuses on the non-linear structure of chronologies and time, and theories on folds in time, as proposed by scholars Michel Serres, Gavin Lucas, and Laurent Olivier. The model’s purpose is to visualize encounters across time and space, which objects can be exposed to – this is exemplified in this article by classical sculptures and how the perception of these has changed over time. By viewing time in a non-linear fashion, we can change our perception of some objects as being frozen in time and instead as constantly being re-evaluated and changing. Thereby gaining a deeper understanding of the relationship between the present and the past.