ECHO. Wrapped in Memory

ECHO reflects on the intimate connection between clothing and memory through the lens of three artists whose work shares a tactile and emotional intensity: artist Louise Bourgeois, designer Simone Rocha and choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker.

This exhibition is about the memories of infancy, childhood and motherhood, ageing and nostalgia, handmaking and repair, and both the physical and emotional memories of clothing.

ECHO is a conversation between artists of different generations and perspectives, and it is Louise Bourgeois, Simone Rocha and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker who guide this story. Three artists, all working in different disciplines, each evoking echoes of the past in their work. In their own unique ways, they each weave memories of clothing and textiles into their artistic language. What they create comes from a personal place, but the effects reach beyond the personal and touch many facets of the human experience.

ECHO also showcases an unknown side of the MoMu Collection to highlight the expert work of textile conservators. Working with a collection of more than 38,000 objects gives MoMu’s curators and researchers access to the echoes of a myriad of personal histories and events. Smells, stains and tears in clothing, or the way certain garments were altered or repaired in the past, are an inexhaustible source of stories and embody the passing of time. ECHO features a unique selection of objects from the MoMu Collection in different stages of degradation with their flaws, discolourations and traces of damage, and with just as many intriguing stories.