Kew Palace

Permanent Exhibition Design/Delivery for Historic Royal Palaces

At Metaphor I led this project to design/deliver the narrative of George III’s life at Kew Palace, the grade 1 listed building that witnessed the most extreme vicissitudes of George III’s life, from happy times spent with his large family, to episodes of ‘madness’ and an eventual retreat from the public gaze. In collaboration with client, Historic Royal Palaces, we devised a new kind of exhibition to deliver the emotional narrative through a combination of audio, artefacts, silent film projections, and the historic fabric of the building itself. Working closely with radio dramatist Jerome Vincent, we wove audio narrative into our design through the spaces of the palace, carrying the visitor on an emotional journey in what has been referred to by reviews as ‘an audio play in a doll’s house’. My role included collaboration with a radio dramatist, graphic designers, a filmmaker, an art photographer, specialist audio-visual engineers, showcase manufacturers, curators and conservators.

© Photography by Philip Vile