Day 29 features Adrien Gardère, Museography Supervisor, who developed the museum's core concept and supervised the exhibition design.
In developing the fundamental composition of the museum’s exhibits, my priority was restraint. I chose to keep the design interventions minimal, focusing on letting the stories already woven into the history of the buildings and grounds speak for themselves. Based on this core concept, I designed a journey that not only conveys the historical and social background of the prison but also allows visitors to grasp the complexity of the subject as a whole. Through this experience, the focus gradually shifts from the reality of incarceration to a deeper, broader reflection on freedom and individuality.
In working on this project, I thought deeply about what freedom truly means. I reached a personal conclusion: freedom is not a given state, but something achieved through constant awareness. While detention in a prison is physical and material, there is also time where inner freedom—through reading, thinking, and writing—can reside. Ultimately, time spent in prison may not be so different from our daily lives. I invite you to confront two questions posed by the museum: Are you truly aware of your own freedom (both physical and inner)? And is it not essential to be more conscious in order to maintain that freedom?
Adrien Gardère is a world-leading exhibition designer and founder of Studio Adrien Gardère in France. He has supervised exhibitions at prominent institutions such as the Louvre-Lens and the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. In Japan, he was involved in the exhibition Reiko Sudo: Making NUNO Textiles held at Art Tower Mito in 2024. For this project, serving as the Museography Supervisor, he worked alongside Art Director Taku Satoh to oversee the museum’s fundamental concept and exhibition layout.
Follow the series on Instagram: “The Exquisite Prison and the 30”
