The exhibition offers a selection of 120 objects from the African collections of the musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac: ritual objects and items for everyday use that have been repaired for economic, emotional or sacred reasons.
This exhibition explores the poetic nature of the restoration and what such repair work might signify on the African continent.
The purpose of the repair is not to restore the object to its original appearance but, in a more subtle way, to recompose a disturbed balance, by instilling new life into the wounded object and restoring its ritual or everyday function. The repair therefore becomes part of the object recreated and is always visible. By giving concrete form to the desire for conservation and renewal, it shows the importance accorded to an object by an individual or a community.
- Exhibition curator : M. Gaetano Speranza
- Number of works : 120
- Surface area required : 350 m²
- Catalogue of the exhibition available (96 pages, Co-published by musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac/5 Continents, 2007)
This exhibition has been presented at :
- musée de la Civilisation, Québec, Canada, from may 22nd 2008 to January 21st 2009
- musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac from June 19th to September 16th 2007
