The Curatorial Backlogs #3 : The Healing Pavilion

Artist : Grace Ndiritu

Show : The Healing Pavilion 

Location : Wellcome Collection : London, England

Date Seen: 21 February 2023

Price: Free

Run Time: 24 November 2022 - 23 April 2023

Sponsors: 

Curators: Janice Li, Emily Sarget 

“Repair and Restitution. Two sides of the same coin.”

– Ndiritu

The Healing Pavilion by Nadiritu was specifically commissioned for the Wellcome Collection. It works to reimagine a space built and burdened by its colonialist history. It connects to Nadiritu’s ongoing body of work titled ‘Healing the Museum’ (began in 2012). Being that this work is made for the space of the Wellcome Collection, it utilizes historically problematic colonialist archival images from the Wellcome Collection, in addition to images from the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin. The structure is built with walnut wood panels which were originally located in the Medicine Man gallery in the Wellcome Collection. The Medicine Man gallery was considered a key exhibition within the Wellcome Collection, yet it was heavily criticized for perpetuating racial stereotypes and hierarchies as it showcased a version of medical history that was based on racist, sexist and ableist theories and language. The use of the wood panels in this work and Nadiritu’s works concept are vitally important as to why this piece is important at this point in time as museums work on decolonizing and reflecting on their problematic pasts. 

Notes:

• A structure is built within the room, attempting to create an isolated space within a larger room. The structure is inspired by Zen Buddhist temples in Japan. This being the structure attempts to re-activate the museum as a meditative space to reflect, contemplate, question, exchange, listen and share.

• The floor is carpeted, and the visitor is asked to remove their shoes before entering the space. The viewer is also instructed to take a headset which plays an informational guided meditation  as they take in the work. 

• On either closed off wall of the structure lies a tapestry, titled Repair (1915) and Restitution (1973). They face each other in an attempt to create conversation about what has changed in the time periods the photos were taken. It reflects on the hidden power and violent past that the foundations of  Western museums are based on and considers the attitudes white Europeans have historically taken toward African objects. 

• The audio is key in consuming this work yet there was no indication that the audio guide was necessary. And because the audio guide is so vital to the experience, it makes the exhibition inaccessible to visitors who may be deaf or hard of hearing as they would miss out on the meditation aspect of the exhibition.

• Small yellow pamphlets with information about the exhibition could be found next to the wall text for the viewer to take home.