Memory Palace, V&A
Memory Palace is a curatorial experiment by Laurie Britton Newell and Ligaya Salazar. They commissioned London author Hari Hunzru to write an original short story that would be interpreted by 20 illustrators and designers, and presented as an ‘immersive narrative experience situated in a gallery in the Victoria and Albert Museum ... a walk-in book.’ The idea of an ‘immersive’ narrative that exists in space rather than on a screen peaks my interest. From a designer/illustrator’s perspective, this is an exciting curatorial model – although the designer/illustrator is not directly involved at the start of the process, by briefing a writer to compose an original narrative that will be visually interpreted, the importance of the visual communication is foregrounded. It is a creative process more familiar to children's books or comics that literary fiction, and an interesting shift toward a more collaborative practice to produce hybrid fiction. My annotated room sheet In a nutshe...
