Hygiene Museum is dedicated to beauty

The German Hygiene Museum in Dresden is being transformed into a very special kind of beauty salon. On Saturday, the last room of the permanent exhibition "Human Adventure" will open with a new concept. Until the beginning of 2025, historical exhibits from the Schwarzkopf Collection were on display there under the title "Beauty, Skin and Hair". The newly created studio is now dedicated to current aspects of beauty and incorporates the thoughts of more than 100 people. The motto of the presentation: "Am I beautiful!"

Exhibition tells the story of what people do with their bodies in everyday life

"Our exhibition is not a historical outline of the development of the ideal of beauty," explained curator Hannes Hacke. The aim is not to formulate scientific findings, but rather to tell people's stories using exhibits. One question was what people do with their bodies in everyday life. Both historical and modern products from the field of body care bear witness to this in the show. But fashion accessories and devices such as a tattoo machine also point to body cult.

A pensioner donated her hairpiece for the exhibition. She had dyed her hair for more than 40 years, the 73-year-old wrote in her story. "When my partner died, I said: enough is enough. Many people around me continue to dye their hair. But more and more are no longer doing it." A 27-year-old reports that he goes to the gym six times a week and tracks everything - training, calories, moods. He was a fairly thin guy, which became a reason for exclusion when dating. "I wanted to be like the other men - six-pack, broad back, pecs."

Museum also wants to fill gaps in the collection with exhibition

"Beauty is an everyday, but never banal dimension of being human - and that is precisely where its appeal lies for a wide audience," said the Hygiene Museum. The exhibition is also intended to close gaps in the museum's own collection and, to a certain extent, correct the flaws of previous presentations. "We are already thinking about which objects are important for the future and want to preserve the stories behind them," reports curator Marcella Lagalante. The focus is on quality rather than quantity.

The show is divided into four sections, each of which presents newly collected objects and stories from people from Dresden and the surrounding area and combines them with the historical exhibits. The "In front of the mirror" section is about everyday beauty routines. "Against Beauty" deals with the resistance to the prevailing ideal of beauty of a slim, young, white and healthy body. "Through the filter" is dedicated to the question of how social media is changing the image of beauty. The chapter "Commodity Beauty" focuses on the consumption of beauty products.

Participants in the exhibition can be seen in videos

In short video interviews, the participants talk about their own approach to appearance and beauty. At various interactive stations, guests are invited to engage individually with questions on the topic. "Am I beautiful!" will be on display for two years. After that, the studio of the permanent exhibition will have a different thematic focus.