Tartan is a textile and pattern which can at once conform and disrupt, represent authority and anarchy, and feel contemporary and traditional. This unique duality is the starting point for the design of Tartan, a major exhibition proposed for V&A Dundee and the first to be curated specifically for the space. Entered through an infinite tartan grid, the exhibition is composed by imposing a supersized tartan grid onto the big box gallery space, with weft and warp becoming overlapping and intersecting wall types for content display and room division. It is rotated in the space, creating frayed edges at the perimeter for immersive moments and special displays. Room linings respond to the needs of the content displayed - when discussing identity we propose a rich collage of tartan fabrics as wall finishes, but as a backdrop to complex conversations on power and colonial histories we have stripped the walls back to a raw material finish.