Verbeeld verleden

2006-2007

‘Portrayed Past’ was one of the two last exhibitions in the Volkskundemuseum (Museum of Regional Ethnology) Antwerp before the museum closed his doors. The collection moved to the new museum MAS. Commissioned assignment of MAS|Volkskundemuseum Antwerpen BE. How do museums make their visitors experience the past? Karin Borghouts visited many museums of regional ethnology and tried to photograph the way in which everyday sceneries are (re)constructed. The pictures not only show exhibited elements but mainly try to catch the vision of ‘showing’. Some of them refer to old ways of pictorial fixation that was used in paintings, old photographs and theatre scenery. What is a picture without story telling us? Can we trust a picture? In any case, these photographs invite you to observe very attentively and to think about the position of photography as well as the position of a museum. 24 of Borghouts’ photographs are published in the book “De poppen aan het dansen” (“The puppets are dancing”). The two exhibitions ‘Het Interessante Volk’, curated by Leen Huet and ‘Verbeeld verleden’, photographs of Karin Borghouts, were on view from March 31 until August 19, 2007 at the Volkskundemuseum, Gildekamersstraat, Antwerp, BE. Collection MAS Antwerp (BE), large format analogue camera, C-prints pasted on Dibond, various formats.