Haven’t seen the Star Wars Identities exhibit yet? It’s the fanboy event of the year.

Star Wars Identities: The Exhibition is the latest powerhouse exhibit from Montreal’s X3 Productions. The show, which explores the science of identity via Star Wars personnel, culls from the treasure chest of Lucasfilm Archives. We spoke with museologist Geneviève Angio-Morneau from gsmprjct°, one of the three companies that form X3 Productions.

What inspired the use of Star Wars to dissect identity?
While brainstorming about characters, we kept coming back to Anakin and Luke, two people who had similar lives, but turned out so different from one another. We narrowed down our theme to ten components of identity; stuff like species, influences, and genetics. While the show touches on science, it’s somewhat philosophical. Visitors can reflect on how culture shapes who we are. Some exhibits provide answers, but this one offers open-ended questions. 

Do we get to see the Sarlacc sandpit monster or some Tauntauns?
Lucas distinguishes aliens from creatures. Aliens are basically humans with different physical characteristics. From an identity point of view, they have the same conscience of self. It’s hard for us to know what kind of identity perception an animal might have, so we only deal with aliens that speak and have human traits, like Yoda and Jabba. 

Can you name some gems from the exhibit?
There’s classic stuff like RD-2D, Boba Fett, and C-3PO. There are objects that have never left the Lucas archives. We have a series of three clone trooper helmets, one from each of the prequels. We have a lot of costumes and original artwork. There are spaceship models from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Anakin’s pod racer is there—a great balance for all the different kinds of fans.

Were you spellbound by a particular artifact?
What’s impressive with an exhibit like this is that visitors get to connect with authentic objects. My background is in graphic design, so I have a weakness for the artwork. We have character sketches from the iconic Cantina scene. There are plans for the Millennium Falcon, and highly detailed illustrations of Darth Vader’s thoughts. After all, what does he think about in his meditation chamber?
 

Until September 16
Montréal Science Centre
King Edward Pier in the Old Port
montrealsciencecentre.com