Rescaldo das Memórias, a solo exhibition by Vik Muniz at Museu Nacional/UFRJ, curated by Daniel Rangel, brings together photographs and sculptures created from ashes and fragments recovered from the 2018 fire that devastated the institution.
Installed in the Sala das Vigas, the room where the fire began and where traces of the tragedy remain visible, the exhibition features 11 photographs and nine sculptures recreating emblematic objects from the Museu Nacional collection. The works are part of the Museum of Ashes series (2019–2026), developed by Vik Muniz in collaboration with the museum’s teams and researchers from the Digital Image Processing Laboratory (LAPID/UFRJ).
In this video, Vik Muniz and Sérgio Alex Kugland de Azevedo, scientist and director of Museu Nacional from 2003 to 2010, discuss the process behind the conception of the works and reflect on the relationship between matter, memory, loss, and reconstruction.
By transforming traces of the fire into new forms, Rescaldo das Memórias reflects on what remains in the face of loss and on the museum’s capacity to preserve, rebuild, and reinvent its memories.