'Mnemosyne'

Mnemosyne was the goddess of memory in Greek mythology, and the source of the word “mnemonic” — as in a mnemonic, or memory-jogging device. Named for German art historian Aby Warburg’s Mnemosyne Atlas, this experimental exhibition at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts places modern and ancient European works alongside contemporary art by 14 artists from Canada. Characterized by the institution as a “free-association game” that “reinvents past codes,” the show encourages a wide-lens approach to visual culture and art history. Or, as curator Geneviève Goyer-Ouimette puts it, the show is “a playful invitation to visitors to build bridges between contemporary works and art from the past through aesthetic associations.”