Churchill Museum Lifeline

The Lifeline is the centrepiece of the new Churchill Museum in London. It is an interactive timeline that both physically and intellectually forms the hub of the exhibition. A 17 metre long continuous projection screen in the form of a table is set diagonally across the space and served by 13 ceiling-mounted data projectors. The Lifeline is a gigantic diary of events spanning Winston Churchill's entire life. At the touch of a finger up to 26 visitors at a time can discover what Churchill was doing on any given day, accessing more than 3,000 high-resolution documents, letters, photographs and films. The Lifeline is visually tactile, like rifling through Churchill's papers. The visual language has a distinct tone and graphic personality that is recognisably mid-20th century in character, consciously evoking the period in which Churchill was alive. The year folders contain month files that in turn contain day files. The relevant folder or file is opened by holding one's finger for a few seconds on the year folder, directly above which, month files slide open accompanied by the sound of a metal filing cabinet drawer opening. Certain dates trigger one of 200 contextual animations that depict other events elsewhere in the world on that day.