A Matter of Time

The exhibition explores materials as shaping forces. It returns to the mid-19th century – a period when many of the defining features of modernity took shape, and faith in progress, science, and technology as means of reshaping the world reached new heights.

It focuses on three materials – gutta-percha, rubber, and celluloid. In their time, they were seen as the materials of the future and paved the way for the modern plastics that followed.

Alongside stories of discovery and invention, the exhibition also reveals the consequences that accompanied them: the exploitation of local populations, complex and at times violent labor systems, and profound transformations of landscapes and living environments – processes that laid the foundations for the ecological crisis we face today.

The exhibition was made possible with the support of: