tranzit.hu/

We each relate to objects distinctively and individually. We use, transform or collect them, and we can develop emotional or aesthetic attachments to them. We can show them proudly to others or keep them completely to ourselves. We can confer meaning on them, and even a soul of a sort; objects we obtained ourselves and those inherited will have different meanings for us.

For those who often move house, personal belongings, the temporary assemblages formed on tables or shelves, will be more responsible for a sense of being home, of intimacy, than the place itself they happen to inhabit. The objects that surround us may acquire a spiritual character and can turn into a sanctuary. Instead of its religious sense, we use the word to refer to such spaces or corners with objects in them that have additional meaning that we confer on them. The portable assemblages we form from amulets, images and figurines prompt the question of what turns an object or motif into a spiritual ‘guide,’ a storytelling medium or heirloom our family has maintained for generations. When we reveal our personal Wunderkammern,** we also seek to understand how these assemblages express our continuously evolving identities.

This exhibition was created by a working group of our volunteers, who came to know each other in the Space of Opportunity. We all come from different backgrounds, all grew up in different circumstances, and our paths cross here and now. We wanted to make an exhibition that is based on the intersections of our interests, the questions that currently intrigue us. What meanings are conveyed by the keepsakes from our childhood, the memorabilia collected over a lifetime? What objects are we attached to, and why those of all objects? What are the stories associated with them? Thanks to the stories and photos that accompany the exhibits, visitors can get a glimpse of the exhibitors’ personal worlds.

If you’re interested, you can make your own contribution to the project by sending us pictures and stories of your personal sanctuaries.

* The title of the exhibition refers to the famous painting Paul Gauguin painted in Tahiti in 1897.
** Wunderkammern (German for ‘ wonder chambers’) were collections of the most diverse objects, which became popular in the 16th century and can be considered the precursors of modern museums.