Aftermath of Memories
Curated by Daniel Rangel

Vik Muniz presents the series Museum of Ashes, the central core for Aftermath of Memories, a new exhibition with the National Museum/UFRJ and the Projeto Museu Nacional Vive. The ashes associated with one of the greatest patrimonial losses in the country’s history take on a new form in photographs and sculptures that articulate art, science, memory, and reconstruction.

When the images of the fire at the Museu Nacional traveled the world in September 2018, Vik Muniz was away from Brazil. The reaction was immediate. Internationally recognized for transforming materials laden with meaning into works of strong visual and emotional impact, the artist decided to respond to the tragedy through art.

The exhibition occupies the place where the 2018 fire began, strengthening the program of dialogues with society about objects, images, and memories that seemed definitely lost. Using the very ashes collected from the fire’s rubble, Vik Muniz recreates artifacts that were part of one of the most important scientific and cultural collections in Latin America. The result is a profoundly moving exhibition that unites art, science, technology, and heritage in a reflection on loss, reconstruction, and permanence.