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In the course of a two-month research project on London's international population and culture, I frequently visited the British Museum. Every visit to me felt like walking on a grand stage, where I could meet different cultures, acting across time and space. However British culture, few exceptions aside, seemed to have missed its cue. Most visitors I talked to; Americans, Italians, Brits said that they did not understand why the museum was called “British”. Many of them extended this impression to London as a whole, arguing that besides from a few representative symbols (taxis, buses and Buckingham Palace guards), it was hard to find typical pieces of Britain in London.

Hence I had the idea of introducing a British Gallery to the British Museum. This gallery should attempt to place the visitor right into current-day Britain - beyond London and beyond common stereotypes. It should give British people the opportunity to express personally what Britain means to them. Thereby the British Museum could become a national and international museum, mirroring both Britain's historic and current position.

Concept - outside the Gallery

24 cars (possibly Minis) are sent out into 24 different areas of Britain (see map on next page).

Each car moves around in its area.

Every car is equipped with a video camera and an LCD flat screen, mounted behind the front windscreen or one of the side-windows. The camera is constantly running and sends the video footage via G3 mobile phone directly to the British Gallery. At the same time the flat screen receives live footage from a camera in the British Gallery which can be viewed through the windscreen or side-window (see photomontages on following pages).

Any British citizen can apply to drive one of the cars and make use of it in his daily life. Opening up the project to everybody firstly increases awareness and response and also ensures a great variety in environments and subcultures on display in the British Gallery.

Concept - inside the Gallery

The British Gallery consists of 24 flat screens set up like a rising auditorium. Looking at the screens from ground level, they form the map of Britain.

Via stairs the visitors can access the eight different levels of the Gallery and stand in front of any screen.
Every screen displays the footage delivered to it by the camera in the car of the respective area.
At the same time a small video camera is mounted below every screen in the Gallery, which in turn delivers footage of the visitors looking at the screen to the respective car and its screen. Thereby visitors to the British Gallery and people all over Britain can communicate.

If it is no longer possible to find new drivers and locations for the live footage, the cars will be ordered home and the existing footage will be repeated. After a year or so, the cars could be sent out again.