The Condition Report
23.11.25-10.06.2026
A curated section of the larger exhibition An Order of Things at Malmö Art Museum.
At the core of museums is the work of conservators, who document and care for the objects in the collection. Following a set protocol, they create a 'condition report'—a detailed written and photographic document that describes the physical state of an artifact to preserve it. A template guides the examiner through a list of parameters to track physical changes and damage, while it ignores questions of previous uses, cosmogony, and subsequent afterlives.
A fundamental aspect of preservation and care within museums is the prevention of touch. While white gloves and non-destructive imaging techniques can minimize damage, such strict handling also brings an ambivalent violence. The practices and rituals associated with the rare objects, possessed and safeguarded by museums, are gradually erased, resulting in lost knowledge. The Condition Report project sheds light on this institutionalized tool and aims to extend the condition beyond thingification.
Curators Marie-Nour Hechaime and Sara Rossling have selected films and video works that reflect and span erasure, conservation, persistence, and repair, as these concepts thread through museum artifacts and their many journeys towards preservation and transmission. The moving images by Noor Abed, Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, Omar Mismar, and Nour Ouayda question the primacy of materiality, and expand on notions of caretaking—especially in contexts of war, climate crisis, or intangible cultural heritage.
An Altered Condition Report is a speculative tool and pedagogical handout accompanying The Condition Report section. The handout can be used in the exhibition An Order of Things as a lens on the collections. It could be a task undertaken independently or shared with others to prompt reflection and dialogue.
A condition report is a standardized internal document used mainly by museums and collecting institutions to describe the physical state of an artifact. Typically written and photographic, the report focuses on material damage, deterioration, and alterations. These reports serve as scientific records, inform decisions about preservation and restoration, and track an object’s institutional life.
Through speculative, sensorial, and relational prompts, An Altered Condition Report invites museum visitors to approach artifacts differently and recover their affective meanings, past lives, and invisible caretakers.
Curators: Marie-Nour Hechaime and Sara Rossling
*The publication, including an essay by Marie-Nour Hechaime and Sara Rossling, will be published in spring 2026 together with documentation.