Introduction

‘The Healing Pavilion’ consists of two large-scale tapestries hung within a site-specific structure, created by British-Kenyan artist Grace Ndiritu. The installation radically reimagines what textiles and architecture can do in a museum burdened by colonial history. It is deeply connected to Ndiritu’s ongoing body of work, ‘Healing the Museum’. Combining her artistic and esoteric spiritual practices, the artist uses socially engaged artwork to inspire non-rational ways of seeing. Her work looks to transform our contemporary world to allow a different kind of future. 

Ndiritu identified two archival images from Wellcome Collection, London, and the Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin. She had the photographs enlarged and woven into two large-scale tapestries, titled ‘The Twin Tapestries: Repair (1915) and Restitution (1973)’ respectively. Together they reveal violent pasts and hidden power dynamics at the foundation of Western museology and reflect attitudes and practices towards African collections in many European museum collections. Through the material and symbolic weight of the tapestries she conveys the complexity of troubled histories and asks what, if anything, has changed since the photographs were taken. 

Inspired by Zen Buddhist temples in Japan, the pavilion is designed to re-activate the museum as a space to encounter, contemplate, ask questions, exchange, listen, share and meditate. Lined with walnut panels taken from the ‘Medicine Man’ gallery of objects from Sir Henry Wellcome’s collection, which closes shortly after this exhibition opens, the structure embodies a physical transformation of the past. Through this work, Ndiritu asks how we might energetically and architecturally reinvent the role of contemporary museums and transform these institutional spaces. 

The exhibition is accompanied by an audio walkthrough and guided meditation from the artist. You can access this through the digital guide.

Entering the Pavilion

As you enter the pavilion, find a comfortable seat and close your eyes.

Let the breath be naturally whatever it is

As we stay here for a few moments in silence

Now open your eyes, return your awareness to the room

Where we see that the pavilion is constructed with walnut panels taken from the recently de-installed ‘Medicine Man’ gallery that used to be on the same floor as this gallery. The pavilion is a similar size to a classroom, designed to evoke a Zen temple-like environment for quiet contemplation and meditation. 

The seating is made of the same walnut wood, placed on beige carpet that covers the entire area of the installation. Please feel free to sit on the benches or on the carpeted floor during this experience. Two large tapestries made for this installation are hung on two sides of the interior space, facing each other. You can hear more about them in the latter part of this audio guide.

The Twin Tapestries: Repair (1915)

Take a comfortable seat and close your eyes 

We will connect with our breath again before turning to the first tapestry, ‘Repair (1915)’

This time we will try to keep the eyes closed for the duration of this short talk. Try to take in what I am saying.

Hear the sounds of the words and sense their meaning, without overanalysing or overthinking them. Let the words drift over you. 

Imagine a large-scale rectangular tapestry named ‘Repair (1915)’ hung at eye level. It’s taller than an adult and surrounded by a yellow border, signifying the colour of sunshine and courage but with the negative association of danger and toxicity. The imagery for ‘Repair’ came from a photograph taken in 1915 in Henry Wellcome’s Hall of Primitive Medicine. 

Now the black-and-white image on the tapestry shows eight people with stern looks, six white men and two women posing with objects on display. One young man sits between two young women, the rest of the five men standing behind them. The men are all dressed in dark suits and ties; the woman seated on the left wears a striped shirt and tie while the other is in a light collared overall, typical of working women in the 1910s. 

Each one holds in their hands an object, ranging from human skulls and wooden figures to head masks – the objects are held in a variety of ways, from cradling to arms wrapped around, evoking senses of ownership, possessiveness and colonial authority but also with a sense of professional pride. 

As we sit here in silence for a few more moments, let’s ponder what it must have been like back then.

Now open your eyes and return your awareness to the room and look at the tapestry.

Walking Meditation

Stand up and begin to circle the space slowly

Feeling every muscle in your feet as they touch the ground

As you take in the beautiful architecture and the sounds 

The Twin Tapestries: Restitution (1973)

We try to will connect with our breath again before turning to the second tapestry.

Keeping your eyes closed for the duration of this short talk, try to take in what I am saying by hearing the sounds of the words and sensing their meaning, but without overthinking or overanalysing them. 

Instead, focus on the natural breath, coming in, coming out. 

Imagine the second tapestry, ‘Restitution (1973)’.

It hangs on the opposite side of the pavilion from ‘Repair’ at eye level. It is the same size as ‘Repair’ but has a pink border signifying the colour of good fortune and open-mindedness, but with the negative association of passivity, and alluding to the pink triangle that was used to identify homosexual prisoners in Nazi Germany. 

This tapestry shows seven white men of varying ages and one young white woman gathered in a group in a gallery, with museum objects leaning against the wall behind them. Their clothing reflects the fashion of the 1970s, displaying a mix of work and social classes. 

The group is arranged around an ornate wooden throne decorated with beaded monkey figures. Two older men, one in black shirt and trousers, the other in a suit and tie, are seated on the throne itself, one behind the other, with more junior workers arranged to pose around them. Two men in casual shirts and trousers recline on the lower plinth in front, holding African objects, while others in suits and ties, or plaid shirts and dungarees, surround the central pair, along with a young woman in T-shirt and jeans. 

The throne supports the weight of four people, with others leaning in. They are carefully posed. Their expressions are light-hearted in comparison to the stern ones in the 1915 image, with strong light casting shadows on the left, making the image very theatrical. However, this is not a play, but an informal documentation of museum workers after work. It was taken in the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin, and the throne pictured is the Mandu Yenu throne, a royal throne originating from the kingdom of Bauman in Cameroon.

Let’s imagine what it must have been like to take this picture one day after work in Berlin.

‘The Healing Pavilion’ is a new art commission by British-Kenyan visual artist Grace Ndiritu, which radically reimagines what textiles and architecture can do in a museum burdened by colonial history.

https://images.prismic.io/wellcomecollection/73d43a2a-5b3f-44e5-8699-56895f94b596_EP_002115_046.jpg?auto=compress,format&rect=0,335,4000,2250&w=3200&h=1800