HORNU.- The MAC’s and Christian Boltanski have a long history together which dates back to 1997. In fact, the French artist was given a commission even before the institution opened.

His work Les Registres du Grand-Hornu was the first piece produced and acquired for the museum’s collection, and it has been an iconic piece for the museum ever since.

In 2001, Denis Gielen, who was working as Laurent Busine’s assistant at the time, interviewed him about his work and his feelings about the Grand-Hornu site.

To mark the opening of Mons 2015, European Capital of Culture, the MAC’s offered Christian Boltanski his first large museum exhibition in Belgium.

The event, which occupies over 5,000 square meters, takes over all of the museum’s rooms as well as the Grand-Hornu’s former hay store, which alone covers over 1,000 square meters.

Les Registres du Grand-Hornu, of course, occupies the place it deserves as the central piece in the museum’s collection. It certainly is being presented to visitors in a new and unexpected configuration.

The rest of the exhibition continues to explore the themes of memory and reminiscence by offering a series of installations created on the basis of clothing and materials which also evoke the theme of death.