“REFLECTIONS IN STONE” EXHIBITION ARCHITECTURE AND MAGIC STAGING

Founded in 1824, the Egyptian museum in Turin is the only one outside Cairo to be entirely dedicated to Egyptian art and culture. It is the second largest collection in the world and the finest outside Egypt. The statuary includes sphinxes, sarcophagi, sacrificial tables, architectural elements and, above all, large statues of some of the major pharaohs and deities: the kings Tuthmosis III, Amenhotep II, Tutankhamon, Horemheb, Ramses II, Sethi II and the gods Ptah, Amon, Hathor and Sekhmet (of whom there are 21 statues). These statues were traditionally housed in two rooms on the ground floor but in February 2006 they were given an entirely new setting. The “Reflections in stone” exhibition designed by award-winning architect and film scenographer, Dante Ferretti provided the ideal opportunity for their move. Ferretti used light to capture and reveal the true spirit of the statues and highlight their particularities.

THE EXPERIENCE

A powerful air of mystery, almost a reverential fear, envelops the visitor confronted with these charismatic Egyptian artefacts. A renewed sacredness of the place pervades the rooms, and the light that surrounds the statues creates reflections devised to eliminate the space in which they are contained, heightening the effect of their plasticity. Lit by specially moulded projectors hidden behind the false ceiling, the particular details of each statue emerge, from the different stones used to the refined and powerful modelling of the faces and bodies. Mirrored walls enable the visitor to see the statues in the round, and the spaciousness devoted to each one helps individualise and detach them further from their confines. Updated room cards and an atmospheric sound track complete the new display. The play of light and shade, multiplied by the mirrors, the lighting individually tailored for each statue, the slow moving images on the walls and the sound effects together produce a timeless and highly suggestive journey through this “noble assembly of gods and kings” that is a sublime expression of Egyptian art.

TECHNOLOGY

The lighting was created to special effect using 250 Le Perroquet spot-lamp projectors and an association
between the Piano Design studio and iGuzzini. Using LED technology the projector is equipped with a set of three interchangeable diaphragms inserted into the support. This allows cones of light of different
widths to be selected. There is also a special adjustable
diaphragm that creates geometrical shapes. This type of projector has a 330° rotation on the horizontal axis and a 190° on the vertical one, and LED optics with narrow (α 12°) or medium (α 25°) band plastic lenses. The tracking is secured with screw-in mechanical blocks, High resolution monochrome 3 and 12 LED circuit models were used in shades of warm white (3100K) and neutral white (4200K).