The object is a social media post originally created by The Museum of English Rural Life (The MERL) part of the University of Reading in 2018. The meme features an image of a large Exmoor Horn ram from their photography collection, taken in 1962, with the caption “look at this absolute unit”. The meme quickly went viral, at one point amassing over 100,000 likes on X (formerly known as Twitter) and reaching millions while propelling The MERL to internet fame.
As the first born-digital object acquired by the National Science and Media Museum, the meme is an example of how internet culture can create second, unexpected lives for images long after they were first created. The meme tells the story of a photograph from negative and print, through to digital reproduction, social media circulation and subsequent new variants. The inclusion of the Absolute Unit meme marks a milestone in the museum in embracing the evolving relationship between photography and the digital age.
The object will be displayed in the museum’s Kodak gallery, placed within the broader history of hundreds of years of photographic technology. To honour the meme’s original context online, it will be displayed on an interactive touch screen allowing visitors to scroll as if encountering it on their own social media feeds and includes a handful of real user responses. The museum worked closely with Dr Arran Reese, a PhD researcher at the University of Leeds, to develop a method for collecting and displaying social media memes, to reflect their relevance to photographic technology and broader cultural heritage.
The museum will reopen its doors to the public on 8 January 2025 following its major regeneration project, with a special reopening celebration on Saturday 11 January. The refreshed Kodak photography gallery, including the newly added Absolute Unit meme, will form part of the museum’s wider reopening celebrations. In summer 2025, the museum will also unveil its new Sound and Vision galleries, showcasing all aspects of the collection, including photography, on permanent display.
Commenting on the object and display Dr Ruth Quinn, Curator of Photography and Photographic Technology, said: “The absolute unit meme is such an important part of popular culture (I even have it printed on a mug) so I’m delighted that we were able to work with Dr Arran Rees to develop a method for collecting and displaying social media, so we can share this work with our visitors in an interactive way.”
The Sound and Vision Project is a £6m capital investment, and in addition to funding received from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project also has support from the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, Bradford Council and the Science Museum Group, which the National Science and Media Museum is a part of.
For more information about Sound and Vision, please visit our website.
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For more information, images or interviews, please contact: Alice Browne, Senior Press Officer Alice.browne@scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk / 01274 203 355
The Sound and Vision Project is generously supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (Associate Funder), DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund (Associate Funder), Art Fund (Supported By) Sovereign Health Care (Supported By), David Family Foundation (Supported By) and Spectacle Makers Charity (Supported By).
About the National Science and Media Museum
The National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire, opened in 1983, and has since become one of the most visited UK museums outside London. It draws on more than three million objects from its national collection to explore the science and culture of image and sound technologies, and their impact on our lives.
The museum creates special exhibitions, interactive galleries and activities for families and adults, and is home to Pictureville, Yorkshire’s biggest independent cinema with three screens including Europe’s first IMAX and the only Cinerama venue in the world.
Please note, the museum remains temporarily closed to the public until 8 January 2025. For more information and updates on reopening, please visit our website.
About the National Lottery Heritage Fund
As the largest dedicated funder of the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033.
Over the next ten years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to bring about benefits for people, places and the natural environment.
We help protect, transform and share the things from the past that people care about, from popular museums and historic places, our natural environment and fragile species, to the languages and cultural traditions that celebrate who we are.
We are passionate about heritage and committed to driving innovation and collaboration to make a positive difference to people’s lives today, while leaving a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund
About the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund
The DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund provides capital funding for museums and galleries across England to improve displays, protect collections and make exhibitions more accessible to visitors. In 2022-24, DCMS and the Wolfson Foundation each contributed £2 million to the Fund, which has benefitted more than 300 projects in its 20-year history.
