In her exhibition Threads of Memory, Phaedra Van den Wyngaert weaves memories with painting. The title refers to the fragments of the past hidden in her works – memories that overlap and create a complex, layered reality.

Phaedra's work is infused with personal memories, some of which originate from black-and-white photos of her grandparents and parents. These photos are transformed into collages in her paintings, where she incorporates fragments of the images in bright colors. The result is an atmosphere of alienation, where emptiness and form are in tension and the boundary between abstraction and figuration blurs. This leads to a visual experience that challenges the viewer, an experience that not only stimulates the eyes but also evokes emotions of alienation and loneliness.

Additionally, Phaedra finds inspiration in textiles. For some of her works, she uses fabrics connected to specific memories, people, and events. The material itself plays a crucial role. While photography captures a moment, textiles hold time in a different way. Fabric comes to life through the movement of the body, through wearing it. Clothing tells stories of daily life – the stains we make, the tears that occur when we fall, the scent we leave behind, the way we mend it. It becomes a personal memory that endures through time.

With this layered approach to both visual and material memory, Phaedra Van den Wyngaert shows us the connection between the tangible and the emotional. Clothing and textiles become more than objects; they become carriers of memories, which, like the paintings, undergo a dynamic process of change and meaning.

In Threads of Memory, Phaedra invites the viewer to explore the boundaries between time, memory, and material, and to rediscover the stories hidden in her work.