Héloïse Charital

Department: Design Curating and Writing
Website: www.heloisecharital.com

When Is White, White Enough?

What: Investigating the paradox of the museum as both repository and producer of knowledge.

Why: The popular image of Greek statues is rendered in iconic white marble — even though they were colourful. Why is this myth so resilient? In a museum dedicated to ancient Greek art, white is not simply a chromatic phenomenon. According to Héloïse Charital, it’s a construction on which racist and nationalist ideas have been based. Investigating this construction and the role of the museum, she asks: When is white, white enough?

How: Through an animated diorama, Héloïse gives a fresh perspective on the various appropriations of Greek sculptures through time. By depicting objects in relation to their history within the museum, she questions the tactics of museum storytelling.

“Such ancient artefacts say as much about the present as about the past”