When the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art announced they were holding an exclusive exhibit of costumes and props used in the Marvel Cinematic Universe I needed to go to there. This exhibit was magical! It was possible to get very close to the costumes and see all the intricate detail in them, but that just made me want to touch the fabric to feel the texture in my fingers. I managed to resist the urge to touch, but not the urge to take a million photos and selfies!
So, as the picture says, let the story begin!
The story of course began with comics. The very first room had original Jack Kirby art from Spider-Man and a whole wall of comics containing the first appearances of characters that are currently making up the cinematic universe Avengers and packing my own comic collection at home. This is the closest I will ever get to this kind of comics treasure trove and it was an absolute treat!
An entire wall of Spidey is a very impressive sight. I don’t quite have the web-slinging pose down yet, but I’m getting there! Should probably work on my fear of heights as well if I ever hope to be a spider-person. This mural made up an entire wall of the comic book room and every photo I took does it no justice. It was massive!
There was a lot of Ironman bits and pieces throughout the exhibit, but this set of armor set up just like in the movie was my favorite. The bright lights made it almost impossible to take a decent picture, but improvisation is key! The scratches and bumps and lights and creases and little parts and all of this was amazing! In this room was also pieces of set from the Mandarin, and the fabric used was plush and layered with paint and other details all over it.
Another Ironman-like piece in the room with a lot of Avengers related props and costumes was this destroyed Ultron droid. Scary. But gorgeously modeled. Wires and gears were dragged out and it looked like it had only just stopped moving and may just start moving again with a little bit of attention. I’m very glad it didn’t get that attention because, well, scary.
And of course who could possibly go past Hulkbuster! Well everyone really, he was right near the door. He was standing in the main foyer watching over the computer displays that showed details of the movies and connection between the characters and were quite a lot of fun to play around with.
The Avengers room had one costume from all the Avengers, and some of the bad-guys they have faced together. The Hulk statue being included with the Avengers line-up completed the team. And it gave me the opportunity to take a picture of a Shoulder-Hulk! I think this is the selfie I got the most weird looks for trying to take, it involved way too much ducking down, then standing on tiptoes, and shrugging whilst tilting my head weird ways. So much fun though. And look! Shoulder-Hulk!
It was very unlike Heimdall to just leave his sword sitting there unprotected. I mean, Loki is still out there, there’s nobody else that would even think of pinching this sword, right? There were many props and weapons from the upcoming Thor Ragnarok movie and the previous Thor movies and all of them would have been wonderful to turn over in my hands and marvel at the shine and detail. My Favorited was the book showing the Dark Elves prophecy, would have loved to sat down with that and had a closer look at the binding and construction, but the book was kept safe behind glass.
The Guardians costumes were interesting to look at, there is a lot of layer and texture in that I remembered to be somewhat flat costumes. There were a few gun props too. It was fascinating to see that all the detail in the guns was towards the barrel or down the edge, not where they are held, but it makes sense. Why put workmanship into the end the camera will never look at?
Across the room from the Guardians costumes were outfits from the Doctor Strange movie, which were far and away my favorite costumes of the entire exhibit. They were also set up in front of a display of lights, mirrors and a looped video of a fight in the mirror dimension which looked spectacular, but was completely impossible to photograph. The costumes themselves were many many layers of different textures and weights of fabric that were folded and hung in ways to give depth to the costumes. And that Cloak of Levitation that had so much personality in the movie was a masterpiece of asymmetrical layered fabrics of different weights and textures that I could believe would move on it’s own. However, the costume I spent the most time admiring was for the Ancient One. The folds and layers of that costume were crisp and complex and fascinating, despite being monochrome yellow. Any item of clothing that can hold my attention that long and be yellow has a special kind of magic about it.
But of course Groot is who I needed to pose in front of. We are all Groot.
These Captain America and the Howling Commandos costumes were spot on. The weathering and little wear marks make them look like they have been lived in through a war, which is really the point of course! This room also had the Captain America stage costume in it, which made me feel itchy just looking at it. It really is as bad as it looks in the movie!
Towards the end of the exhibit there was a space where a camera would track your movements and have a character follow your actions. I got to make baby Groot dance! Also made Ironman and Rocket Raccoon dance, but they aren’t nearly as adorable. This area probably entertained me far more than it should have…
The throne room from Thor was a piece of art. Everything was gilt and had inlaid details of swirly magnificence all over the place. Walking into this room for the first time took my breath away. I was one of those annoying people that stop in the doorway to stare so others had to go around me. And the costumes in it were of course their own complex layered work of art. I may have made grabby hands at more than one of them.
Ended up going through this exhibit twice and I still want to go back again! There was so much more amazingness than I was able to photograph. There wasn’t just props and costumes, but entire set pieces! Not to mention the behind-the scenes production videos and details, plus concept art that could have easily been an exhibit all on their own. I don’t think I’ll get an opportunity to go back before this closes, Brisbane is a little bit far for me to comfortably go for a day trip, but I highly recommend anyone at all with any interest in the Marvel movies goes to see this wonderful exhibit.