Balderdash: Star Wars Identities (London, 2017)

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Star Wars Identities (London, 2017)

Star Wars Identities is visiting Singapore from January 30 to June 13 as the last stop on its 12 city world tour. After its start in Montreal, it has since been to Edmonton, Ottawa, Paris, Lyon, Cologne, Munich, London, Utrecht, Brussels, Sydney and Tokyo.

I visited it in London in 2017. Since even more people than usual will be unable to see it due to covid, I am (finally) uploading my commentary (with photos, of course). It is possible the exhibition has evolved in the last 3 years but most of it should be the same.

Doing this post reminds me of why I stopped doing my travelogues - this is really time consuming (mostly sorting out, then posting the photos). But the sacrifices one makes...

Star Wars Identities is a peculiar mashup of Star Wars drawings, artefacts and displays with meditations on psychology, with RPG character creation thrown in to boot.

While it was nice seeing the artefacts and drawings (some of which I had seen pictures of, but materiality is always nice), the exhibition didn't feel tight (you can see the flow isn't good, with sections not well-connected), and I felt the meditations were bolted on (often with no connection to Star Wars at all).

In doing the research for this post, I found out that the meditations were grounded in science - the exhibition was created in conjunction with a scientific community consisting of neuropsychologists, psychologists, a biochemist, a social psychologist, an occupational therapist and an expert in education. Most of the names are French ones, though, which would account for the very French philosophical bent (and perhaps why there was French text in London - presumably the ArtScience Museum will replace it with Mandarin as usual).

Praise for the exhibition

Ticket prices

Composite posters - Star Wars characters made up of other items

Exhibition title

As part of the exhibition, everyone got a wristband which could be tapped to sensors in the wall to make choices (this being a theme of the exhibition).

Waffle on what determines the self

You got to choose which species your character would be

Supposedly the cantina scene in A New Hope is to invert the usual relationship between Human and Alien. I have my doubts about that. Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.

Cantina crowd

Ponda Baba

On cloning

Boba Fett (who's a clone) with BB-8, a First Order Stormtrooper and a Stormtrooper (who are not, nearby text on clones notwithtanding). Stormtrooper helmets, stormtrooper rifle

On the podracing aliens

Aldar Beedo, Ark "Bumpy" Roose

Mars Guo, Neva Kee

On genes

Droids: [B1] Battle Droid, EV-9D9, RA-7, 8D8, Mouse Droid, C-3P0, R2-D2

Jar Jar Expressions

Jar Jar Binks models

On genes. At least this is related to Star Wars. Although, sadly, not to the exhibits beside it. I guess this is supposed to be linked to Tatooine because that's the origin of both Skywalkers. But there was no other attempt made to link the twins (and even here the link was only mentioned in passing - nothing about genes and personality, for example, despite the header of "it's in the genes")

Twins

Luke as girl concepts

Early Luke and Leia

Sebulba

The influence of parents, parenting styles. No talk about how parenting (supposedly) influences kids, though

Commentary on Shmi Skywalker and Owen and Beru Lars parenting

Owen and Beru Lars

Shmi Skywalker sketch, presumably conceived of as a Jedi

Anakin and his mother

Life on Tatooine

Streets of Mos Eisley

R2-D2 and C-3P0 leave the pod in the desert

Tusken raiders

Droids at Jabba's Palace

Jawa village

Tusken raiders at night

Sandcrawler at night

Jawa Swapmeet

Tusken Raider, Jawa

Han Solo in Carbonite, Slave Leia

Jabba the Hutt and his eyes, Jabba and Montross (who got cut)

Jabba with legs

Jabba reclining

Jabba with bubble pot

"I hold up under pressure"

Jabba tatoo

"How do we grow - influences" (one of the links they tried to make to "Identities", which presumably explains the exhibition title); Luke and Yoda

Minch house interior

Minch house exterior

X-Wing in bog

Luke leaves Dagobah

Luke persuades Yoda

Yoda

Early Yoda

Yoda with cane

Early Yoda

Minch muppet

Actions and attitudes - sketches for Yoda in The Clone Wars

Various Imperial craft: Star Destroyer, TIE Fighter Advanced x1, Imperial Shuttle, TIE Bomber, TIE Interceptor, TIE Fighter, AT-AT Walker

(Mostly) Rebel craft: Slave I, X-Wing, Rebel Snowspeeder, , A-Wing, Mon Calamari Starcruiser, B-Wing

Death Star over laser eye

Death Star Laser Cannon

Relative Speed/Maneuverability chart - the Millennium Falcon isn't that fast after all!

"Friends" (i.e. Cloud City)

East Landing Platform

City in Clouds

A room in Cloud City

Millennium Falcon landing on Cloud City

Dinner with Darth Vader

Luke Rebel Pilot costume

The Millennium Falcon

Han and Chewie over Death Star

Han and Chewie

Han Solo & Chewbacca costumes

Young Chewie

Costumes: Chewbacca, Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, Lando Calrissan

"The Millennium Falcon: The Friend Ship"

Top view

Cockpit Interior

Gunport Section

"Strength in Numbers" (i.e. the Rebel Alliance)

Rebels Plot Attack

Rebel helmets

Aquillian Rangers (not in later drafts), Troops

Rebel Pilot Helmets

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"
The exhibition made the point (not pictured in this post) that Luke and Anakin faced similar circumstances, but one stayed good and the other turned evil because, among other things, of their different social contexts - Luke had friends but Anakin didn't (more from Geek Frontiers). Ironically, given that material from The Clone Wars was featured, it didn't talk about the role of the Jedi Order's flaws in Anakin's fall.

Choices

Occupation - once again you could choose one

On Padme Amidala, Amidala costumes

"Personality: how do you behave?"

"Anakin: high on neuroticism, low on agreeableness" (Luke didn't get a similar personality evaluation - probably because they didn't have enough related props to show, e.g. his Commander Luke Skywalker costume [the one he wears at the end of The Empire Strikes Back])