Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe

The conservation team at the Gallery of Modern Art are in for a mission – to take painstaking care to Marvel Studio's elaborate collections.

Amanda Slack-Smith, who is the show's curator points out to the exquisite rings which were worn by the Mandarin from the Iron man 3 movie and the ancient leather-bound volume of the Book of Yggdrasil from Thor: The Dark World movie. They are just a few of the enormous display set to grace during the Gallery of Modern Art's Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe exhibit. The largest museum-based art show highlighting Marvel items and creations from props, drawings, costumes, concepts art and storyboards are the first of its kind in Australia.

From the handmade to the high-tech ones, among the items on display to watch out for during the exhibition include:

• Thor's big and literally imposing throne
• The Spider-Man comic book debut's original art for its first page
• The interactive Ant-Man chase sequence which takes place on a toy train set
• The Spider-Man mural painted on the walls of the art gallery created by the local artist Wayne Nichols

"It's nice when there's something that's such a tight, polished mythology to be able to break it apart a little and look at the people behind the scenes, and the processes," Amanda Slack-Smith remarked. To pump up the exhibit, the show will also include a number of talks and tons of activities for the visitors. Opposite the gallery, there will also be a screening of the Marvel Studios movies at the GOMA cinema during the entire course of the exhibit.

With the help of Michael O' Sullivan, the head of exhibition installation and design team, Slack-Smith came up with a design framework with three-part concepts that showcase the important elements of the Marvel mythology and relates to the visitors the story behind the creations.

First Stage: The Entry point of the Show

This stage highlights the first comic book manifestations of Marvel's key characters and the contemporary comics that have helped shaped the film's narratives and storyline

Second Stage: An Introduction to the 2012 Movie, The Avengers

This stage assembles the group of superheroes that came from different backgrounds, including Thor the Norse god, Captain America, the Hulk, Iron man.