Islanders: The Making of the Mediterranean

The Fitzwilliam Museum

★★★★★ The Guardian

Bringing together more than 200 objects from three of the largest Mediterranean islands, Cyprus, Crete and Sardinia, Islanders invites visitors on a 4,000-year journey exploring the cultures of Mediterranean islanders from antiquity to today. 

Working closely with Holmes Studios we designed a scheme to bring Mediterranean sunlight to the galleries of the Fitzwilliam. 

To create the atmospheric backdrop for the objects, warm golden hues were used to bathe the space, with layers of cooler blues and greens to evoke the sea.  A range of techniques created texture and shadows that echo the architecture and foliage of the islands.

The objects were carefully treated with subtle and sensitive lighting designed to naturalistically sculpt and emphasize their form.