It's all about Harry Potter

On Easter Monday we finally got the opportunity to visit the Harry Potter Exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney on it's final day. It's been running for 6 months & I had looked at attending this on my own several times, but when I did the sessions I wanted to attend were always pre-booked. (Yes...not only did you have to pre-book the date you wanted to go but you also had to indicate the time slot you wanted to attend). Monday was a rare day that both Lee & I didn't have to go to work & it was on his suggestion that we decided to attend.I didn't think we would have a hope in hell getting tickets, being school holidays an all but to my surprise there were several time slots available. I booked us in for 3pm figuring that would give us plenty of time to drive into the city and have a leisurely lunch beforehand.

I had heard both good and bad reviews about the exhibition. The good were along similar lines to my experience of attending an exhibition some years ago in Wellington on the Lord of the Rings movies. The bad reviews all revolved around the commercial aspects of the over priced merchandise, that if you believed these reviewers, was virtually pushed upon you at wand point.

Well, as our 3 o'clock group queued to get into to see the exhibits we experienced the commercialism straight away. The queue went straight through an area where a very bored looking photographer would take a photo of your group against a green screen. On your way out your picture, suitably photoshopped with a Harry Potter background, was already available for you to purchase, the tacky faux leather frame doubled the price (of course).

  I probably annoyed Lee by being the only person that refused to get their photograph taken, I know my comment that it was probably a government conspiracy didn't go down well. After about 30 minutes of waiting around us muggles were finally allowed into Harry Potter world.

Visitors begin by being ushered into a gallery where an actor invites volunteers to try on the Sorting Hat, which directs them into the various houses of the wizarding school of Hogwarts. We then discover, from another wizard, that our original host is in fact a deatheater and a battle of spells begins, in which the good guy finally prevails...

We are finally allowed into to view the exhibits, accompanied by video montages from the movies, and we are led through its classrooms and dorm rooms, past teachers, both the villainous and eccentric — and various magical objects. Most of the exhibits you can't touch, but they did allow you to touch the mandrakes, much to the delight of the children attending.

Eventually we make our way to the Forbidden Forest,  and into the next gallery, where the ghastly Dark Forces congregate. It would have been nice if more candles had floated in the air above our heads in the Great Hall or if they had used holograms of the Hogwart's ghosts & if atmospheric mists had swirled in the forest, but it was still pretty exciting. There were the Yule Ball outfits of Harry’s friends — Ron’s out-of-fashion hand-me-down & Hermione’s suitably poised and elegant gown. We saw fizzing whizzbee candies from Hogsmeade and “Cram It!” guides for school finals, as well as a glimpse of  Dobby the wide-eyed house-elf.

But what made all of this so effective is that these props are not just reminders of something seen more potently and in wider context in the movies.  Instead, it becomes clear that the movies worked so well because no object really is just a prop. Everything is thoroughly imagined & brilliantly created.  Nothing is too small to notice; the imagined world, following the example set by Ms. Rowling, is saturated with details.

The books displayed here, about potions and brooms and monsters, are designed to look like volumes from the early 20th century & some of course, even more ancient. If you look closely at the Adult clothing styles you notice that they  barely reach beyond the Edwardian era. Hogwarts is haunted by traditions and the wizard world by Gothic details.

The costuming and the props were amazing. My favourite costume by far was Bellatrix's dress. The detail was amazing!

This is not a contemporary world, it is a world full of things past. The movies’ creators were so  attuned to that aspect of the novels, managing to combine a sense of endangered and cherished traditions, alongside  modern multicultural possibilities.  Loved it! (but wasn't tempted to buy any of the naff overpriced memento's lol)