The exhibition 'White on White,' featuring a selection of shirts from the collections of Horatiu Silviu Ilea and Ioana Corduneanu, representing several regions of the country and dating from the interwar period, will open on 19 August at 5:00 pm at the New Hall of the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant.

'The 'White on White' exhibition invites us to understand our heritage and tradition from another perspective as well. Beyond rituals, symbols, expressions of identity and status, there is something at least as powerful that we need to take into account when we want to understand old shirts: practical considerations. (...) The embroidery on shirts, like the painted frescoes of monasteries, has been exposed to the elements and wear, and damaged by sunlight and water. Just as in architecture, where stone tracery is what survives, and as with ancient sculptures, of which only the white marble has remained, in textiles too we have needlework techniques that withstand the passage of time through the textures they create,' according to a press release exhibition organiser Semne Cusute Association issued on Wednesday.

The story of white thread embroidery on white fabric shows us how tradition remains alive and adapts, evolves and 'takes hold,' particularly when it also provides solutions to practical problems.

'Whether white was chosen as a risk-free option or is simply what remained of thread that had faded, the story is a simple one: at some point, the village adopted the fashion that came from the city. Tomorrow's tradition is shaped by the choices we make today,' the organisers said.

The exhibition can be visited at the New Gallery Hall from 20 August to 13 September, Wednesday to Sunday, between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm.

AGERPRES National News Agency is a media partner of the event. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Petronius Craiu; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)

* Photo source: Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român / Facebook.com