Jennifer K.Y. Lam

Curiosity is a feature related to exploration, investigation and learning. Through observations, it is evidently found amongst humans and many animal species. This inquisitive desire marks one of the starting points of this research, through asking questions... Titled "Organised Chaos", this paper aims to introduce the Wunderkammer as a model for contemporary curating practice and exhibition-making, and argues that this model is more suitable than the White Cube prototype in relation to our present context. However, instead of acting as oppositions, this paper insists on the need for both to exist as dichotomy.

Using Michel Foucault's philosophy on epistemes / knowledge structures in "The Order of Things" (first published in 1966-70) as a preliminary anchor for the argument, this paper discusses how curating practices and exhibitions are able to embody types of epistemes. It then raises the necessity of looking beyond Euro-America to include the Asian context for theories and principles in ways of thinking and knowledge production.

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Wunderkammer, German for ‘wonder chamber’, is commonly known in museology as a display method that took form in the Renaissance period when European countries extended their explorations beyond their maritime borders. It reached out to far unknown lands and brought back ambiguous objects that testified to their journeys and encounters. The accumulation of these items formed collections that represented and symbolized the real world, one that is beyond European concentric narratives and explanations.

Extracting the essence of the chamber, I have been pondering on the conceptual term and theoretical model of the Wunderkammer. Such an examination can be identified in my projects Of Our Own Making (2014) and Whose Game Is It? (2015). As a curating model, the Wunderkammer responds to a specific time and location. It prompts consciousness of the numerous stakeholders and influencing factors. It reveals the underlying politics and relationships at play. It incites us to regain authorship and responsibility in this complex world. It also takes shape in different forms and medium – workshop, retreat, exhibition, commission projects, and interdisciplinary collaborations. Like a microcosm that echoes the macrocosm, the Wunderkammer brings to light urgent parts of our world.