Gala Porras-Kim: The Weight of a Patina of Time

The edition focuses on a series of works by Gala Porras‑Kim, whose research‑based practice looks closely at the layered meaning of objects in the 21st‑century museum. Her explorations of the uncertain histories of ancient objects reimagine their pasts while charting new possibilities for their present and future. The essays, written by curators, academics, and conservators, reflect on Porras‑Kim's affinity for fragments, conflicting histories, undeciphered texts, and other instances of uncertainty within the space of the museum. They also address the challanges of maintaining knowledge over centuries in shifting institutional contexts, and document Porras‑Kim's interventions into systems of classification and knowledge production.