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V&A Museum, London Until 10 June
Ocean liners are the stuff of fantasy: a glamorous, self-contained world, with sleek art-deco interiors, where beautiful women in gold lamé glide down sensuous, curving staircases to be greeted by elegant men in evening dress.
As a new exhibition at the V&A, Ocean Liners: Speed and Style demonstrates, that was certainly part of the picture - but it also goes below deck to examine the origins of the liner, its engineering, the technology and the social changes behind the development of the vessels that revolutionised ocean travel from the mid-19th to the late-20th century.
It is the first-ever exhibition to take a comprehensive look at the ocean liner as a physical and social entity across national and company boundaries, examining it through its material culture - in this case more than 250 objects. It draws on the expertise of design, technology, fashion, maritime, architectural, art and cultural historians to evaluate the main developments in technology, interior design, publicity and sociology of the design of ships and the social rituals on board.
The SS Great Eastern, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, launched in 1859, - and built from iron rather than wood - was originally intended as a passenger liner, but proved too uncomfortable. Yet it set a precedent of new technology in the...