Project gallery

Venture to the Interior is investigating the collections of the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. The collections are a rare corpus of objects from many different fields of knowledge starting around 1717. The major part of the collections was amassed in the 19th century drawing from a new model of scientific practice as well as from the explorations at the zenith of colonial activity where the frenzy of collecting was a political and cultural phenomenon. The collections reflect the shift of paradigm in the collecting practice from a subjective and idiosyncratic approach towards an institutionalized and systematic one.

A DVD Rom will bring a selection of objects from the deep vaults of these collections into a digital archive. This selection unites examples that allow us to exemplify the practice of classification as well as the historical transformations of the collection activity and archiving practice. The particular character allows us to reestablish the context of the objects and provides a basis to reflect the status of the intriguing nature of the objects and the pure fascination that emanates from the objects themselves.

The aim is to realize an experimental tool which allows us to analyze and reassess the idea of archiving and the practice of categorizing and classification. We connect this with an examination of the role of collecting and archiving in the contemporary structure of knowledge. In this setting we explore the specific contribution of interactive media that is transforming the landscape of knowledge.

Regarding the continuing effort to digitize archival collections we want to formulate a statement about the transformation of collections after their digitization. We are delving into the status of the objects in a digitally reproduced archive.