While the production of Thor: Ragnarok reportedly kept Hiddleswift apart, thus robbing us of one of Hollywood’s gangliest power-couples, by the time the film is released in November, the third Thor installment will have paid its debts to the culture twofold. That’s because, in addition to expanding the superhero movie universe, the film also gave rise to the largest Marvel exhibition ever, on now at Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) in Brisbane, Australia.
While Australia’s third most populous city may seem like an unlikely locale for the Hollywood powerhouse to stage an exhibition, it was the museum, with the help of the Australian government, that approached Marvel during the filming of Thor: Ragnarok in Queensland’s Gold Coast. “We proposed the exhibition to [them], and they were very excited about the prospect,” Amanda Slack-Smith, Associate Curator, told us.
Spanning 14 films, from 2008’s Iron Man to 2016’s Doctor Strange, the collection gives insight into how Marvel brings its comics to life. Among those on display are busts of Guardian of the Galaxy’s Groot and The Avengers’s Thanos used as stand-ins for CGI, as well as live animations taken from action scenes. Others trace the roots of the multi-billion dollar film franchise, like an original Steve Ditko print on loan from the Library of Congress depicting the first appearance of Spider-Man.
“50% of the objects in the show have never been seen outside of Marvel film sets and archives,” said Slack-Smith. These include several set pieces from the forthcoming Thor film like the Asgardian throne room, Hulk’s bed, and a model of the capital city of Sakaar where the film is set. “Visitors can experience first-hand the scale and grandeur of these [films] in a way very few people not involved in the filming would ever see,” the curator added. In case you won’t make it to Australia any time soon, check out some of the exhibit’s most marvelous pieces here.
