Display panels designed in canvas stretched over a metal frame give a subliminal feel of entering the officers mess tent.

War Games Exhibition

Working with curators at the V&A Museum of Childhood the team designed a national touring exhibition entitled War Games, a show for adults and young children exploring the role of warfare in children’s play from 1800 to the present day.

Showcasing over 100 objects, the exhibition provided an opportunity for visitors to investigate how toys recreate and represent war, and to ask them to consider why children enjoy playing war games.

The studio created four thematic sections: Playing at War, On the Battlefield, Reality to Fantasy and Secret Weapons. Interactive displays were designed to encourage children to dress up, play at espionage and engage in activities that encourage learning, while photography, film and games all contributed to a diverse and stimulating experience.

Location: V&A Museum of Childhood, London

Date: 2013

Client: V&A

Toy gun cabinet.
The exhibition proved to be one of the most popular, thought provoking and critically acclaimed at the Museum in the last decade.
Stephen Nicholls, former Senior Exhibitions Manager, V&A Museum of Childhood
In this section strategic war maps lined the walls and plinths for models were formed with topographical contours and placed around the gallery space. An interactive bunker for children's play supported a watch tower from which the beam of a search tower patrolled the landscape.
A giant diorama was created at the heart of the exhibition based on the notion of a spilled toybox and the conflict that ensues between rival armies - here Z-force marauders take on Action Man whilst Barbarella looks on.
Like an oversized Airfix model kit, objects are mounted to their plastic sprues and flank the entrance marking the beginning of the exhibition.