This exhibition was created following the acquisition of the Rimon Collection by the Haifa Museums – a step that introduced a large private collection into the museum space. The exhibition addresses the tension between the "private collection" and the "museum collection" in the diverse contexts of memory, nostalgia, commemoration, means of representation, and display.
The exhibition seeks to indicate the growing interest in the study of museum displays and visual historiography, in light of the major changes undergone in recent decades by displays in historic and local museums in Israel. In recent decades museums throughout the country have begun presenting nostalgic exhibitions on diverse themes, exploring the material and visual culture created in the region prior to and following the establishment of the State of Israel. Objects from daily life, souvenirs, products of popular culture, including items that are momentarily consumed and then discarded such as bus tickets, advertisements, invitations, etc., began filling the museum galleries. Such displays are based in part on items held by private collectors and "amateur historians" of local material culture.
In this spirit, the exhibition investigates the consumer culture and local collectorship of recent decades, beginning in the 1980s. Artworks, collections of items from daily life, commerce, tourism and popular merchandize come together to create a colorful, captivating hall. Alongside the nostalgic and historical contexts, new meanings are created by the objects' juxtaposition. The display raises questions regarding our ability to reliably judge the time period in which we live. Which objects "deserve" to enter the historic "hall of fame," and which materials will be displayed in the future?