Accepting the decay of plastic artifacts in museums: pasts and futures surfacing in a life preserver from sunken MS Estonia

Abstract

This is a case study of a deformed life preserver originating from the ferryboat MS Estonia that sank in the Baltic Sea in 1994. In this post qualitatively positioned research article, I argue that transformed plastic is an active agent of both the decision-making and interpretation of a museum object made of plastic. This article contributes in a new way to the discussion of how museums of cultural history could manage deteriorating plastic objects. So far, a scientific materialist approach, guided by research in conservation science, has emphasised the need for special conditions to safeguard rapidly deteriorating plastic artefacts for future generations. However, the agency of deteriorating plastic does not only call for conserving the plastic material ‘forever’, but it also requires letting go of the ideal of minimising the further degradation of plastic.