Forget-me-not – Museum of (und)discovered memories
Hubertusburg Castle, Wermsdorf
05/14/2023—09/24/2023
Hubertusburg Castle in Wermsdorf is one of the largest European hunting lodges of the 18th century. Located between Dresden and Leipzig, it is only known to a few despite its historical importance. After many changes of use, the main building of the castle is now empty - but its rooms are full of memories of the people of the last centuries.
To this day, memories of and about the people who lived here and now live on the premises of Hubertusburg can be collected, rediscovered and authentically recreated. The personal fates of patients, prisoners and residents make it possible to experience the complex past directly. The show, which transcends genres and epochs, presents different facets of remembering: How does it feel and how can these memories be preserved? What do we need in order to be able to remember at all? Six exhibition chapters ask questions about collecting, processing, feeling and creating memories, selected works of art from the past and present show how people deal with them.
The approximately 80 exhibits include works by the artist Félix Gonzáles-Torres from the Hoffmann Collection donation, the painting “Der Strom” by Neo Rauch from the SKD art fund and a plaster cast of the life mask of Augustus the Strong from the armory. Very personal insights into individual life stories are provided, among other things, by the audio recordings of a former patient and a former chief physician from the Hubertusburg Psychiatric Hospital as well as those of various Wermsdorf residents. In five short films, the Dresden artists David Campesino and Maks Pallas take a look at the empty castle rooms and the stories hidden within. The "memory spaces" in the exhibition invite visitors to linger and reflect on their own experiences and dealing with memories.