Oar, Moses, and Radio

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Oar, Moses, and Radio, The Tree in the History of Latvia

an exhibition at the Latvian National Museum of History in Riga, ran from October 2021 to September 2022. It explored the longstanding relationship between man and wood.

The project seeks to define wood not just as material but to expand its understanding within a much broader social, economic, ecological, and spiritual realm.

Spanning millennia, the exhibition displays a range of artifacts related to wood, from ancient oars to veneer radios, poems to laws, forest harvesting maps to preservation campaigns. Examining the historical interplay between humanity and wood, the exhibition highlights the ongoing quest for balance between consumption and ecological care.

Our design process involved investigating the spatial experiences evoked by wooden materials in Latvian culture. Exhibition design defines each department with a central scenography, providing informative value to visitors.

The raw nature of the wood material itself is put on display, showcased in the form of scenographical objects that have been crafted using period-specific wood processing techniques. These objects highlight the presence of wood in human surroundings and offer insight into the spatial identity of different periods. From the primal forest to timber church structures and Latvian homestead shingles, followed by veneer production. Ultimately, it returns to the forest of this era, now a space of escape and tranquility.