Hidden Heroes – The Genius of Everyday Things, the forthcoming exhibition at the Science Museum, is thrusting the most unlikely of protagonists into the limelight. Teabags, pencils, corkscrews and coat hangers are among those to be featured in a
Who: Hidden Heroes – The Genius of Everyday Things, the forthcoming exhibition at the Science Museum, is thrusting the most unlikely of protagonists into the limelight. Teabags, pencils, corkscrews and coat hangers are among those to be featured in a display dedicated to objects of longstanding, efficient and invaluable design, which have largely been overlooked in our quest for extreme technological advancement and deemed as little more than routine essentials.
What: A celebration of 36 such models of functional and sustainable perfection and their respective inventors, the show will track the creative process of each product: from its conception (through authentic sketches and drawings) to its marketing (through the original advertisements used to promote and establish it). Lesser known facts about our most discreet but dependable implements will also be divulged to visitors: did you know Napoleon played a part in the story of the tin can or the inspiring effect that a descending plane had upon bubble wrap?
Why: The aim is to encourage viewers to consider the items in a broader contex. For instance, to understand the manner in which certain objects symbolise cultural and historical progression – like the pencil as a sign of widespread literacy and education or tin cans as the embodiment of industrialised food processing – as well as the wider, knock-on effect of simple inventions like the zip, which has altered fashion beyond measure. Equally, importance is placed on the continuing influence of these objects upon designers and inventors today, both conceptually and economically (it is interesting to note that the majority of designs have been altered very slightly, if at all, over the years). As put succinctly by Dr Susan Mossman, material science specialist at the Science Museum: “At a time when celebrity is king, it gives all of us here enormous satisfaction to celebrate the truly uncelebrated and shine a light on a group of outstanding inventions and inventors, revealing the supposedly mundane to be nothing short of remarkable.”
Hidden Heroes – The Genius of Everyday Things is at the Science Museum from November 9 until May 30 2012.
Text by Daisy Woodward
