REVIEW | Making Egypt – Young V&A, London

Making Egypt at Young V&A is another masterclass in curating accessible exhibitions for all types of audiences, not just children.

By capitalising on the storytelling element of Ancient Egyptian mythology, the exhibition uses the civilisation’s deities as a link to many physical aspects of the world. Forming the backbone of the children’s activity is the story of Osiris, whose dismembered body parts are scattered across the entire space for kids – embodying his wife Isis – to find (it was quite fun).

What always surprises me is how openly Young V&A embraces popular culture in its exhibitions, a curatorial choice that demonstrates quite effectively history’s influence and relevancy to contemporary culture and society. I loved the dedicated display examining the real-life Imhotep, the iconic villain from The Mummy (1999). I also discovered Tracey Emin owns one of the statuettes in the show.

Spread out over three sections – Storytelling, Communicating, and Making – the assortment of displays give you a crash course in practically everything you ever wanted to know about Ancient Egypt. How do you read hieroglyphs? What colours did they use and what do they signify? Did you know they drew grids as an underdrawing to aid with their precise wall paintings? How were the pyramids built?

But my favourite part in all of this? A single wall text in corner of the last room explaining the exhibition design. For example, the clay used in the final room came from near the Chiltern Hills and will be returned after the show as a commitment to zero waste. I wish every exhibition had something like this.