Towards A New Blueprint: Decolonising The British Museum!
IT’S THE YEAR 2074!
WELCOME TO THE RE-CLAIMED ASTROLABE EXHIBITION!
This thesis project examines how reclaiming the astrolabe, an artefact in The British Museum's collection, can help re-orient colonial and orientalist views of Islam perpetuated by The Museum. An astrolabe is an essential tool in guiding many Islamic rituals. This thesis reclaims the astrolabe from an artefact representing astronomy and space to a tool used to spatialise the abstract nature of Islamic rituals. These spatialised moments are a series of five pavilions and interventions placed throughout The British Museum; The Wudu Pavilion, The Material Learning and Library Space, The Prayer Pavilion, The Sound Tower, and The Exchange Space. These interventions make up the Re-Claimed Astrolabe Exhibition.
