Threads of Memory: The Forgotten Laundry — Shingiro Ntigurirwa Weaves New Life into Old Clothes at Indiba Arts Space

By Fred Mfuranzima 

Kigali, Rwanda – In a quiet corner of Indiba Arts Space, forgotten fabrics whisper stories long buried in drawers, trunks, and closets. With “Threads of Memory: The Forgotten Laundry,” Rwandan visual artist Shingiro Ntigurirwa brings a deeply personal and communal exhibition to life — one that transforms discarded clothing into layered, evocative installations that speak to memory, identity, and rebirth.

Born in 1993 in Nyarugenge, Ntigurirwa has been practicing art professionally since 2013, making his mark in Rwanda and abroad. This latest exhibition was sparked during his recent artistic residency and exhibition at OT Creative Space in Manchester, United Kingdom, where he was struck by how people grapple with disposing of old clothes. “I met people who kept their parents’ or partners’ clothes, not knowing where to take them — yet unable to throw them away,” Ntigurirwa recalls.

When he returned to Rwanda, the theme resonated even more. “I realized we do the same here. Our closets are full of memories. Some people are haunted by them, others forget. So I started collecting these old clothes — the ones people no longer wear — and I gave them a second voice.”

In “Threads of Memory,” Ntigurirwa doesn’t just recycle material; he reclaims emotional landscapes. Shirts with frayed collars become the outlines of faces. Dresses, faded from sun and time, are stitched into patchwork skies. “Each fabric carries a past,” he says. “A wedding that ended in divorce, a child who outgrew their innocence, a loved one who passed — these are garments of grief, joy, transition.”

This work continues Ntigurirwa’s trajectory of engaging memory, identity, and social themes through experimental mediums. He first gained international attention in 2014, participating in Imago Mundi at Ishyo Arts Center, curated by a team of Italian curators. Since then, his work has appeared in numerous group exhibitions, including Radio Book Rwanda, Colors of Souls, Umugore w’Umusazi (2022), and the live painting Q&A sessions in Manchester (2024).

Yet “Threads of Memory” feels like a culmination of a journey — one both geographic and spiritual. The installation isn’t static. As visitors walk through it, garments sway gently from the ceiling like ghosts in conversation. In one section, there is a pile of clothes that the public is invited to touch, rearrange, and even contribute to. “It’s participatory,” Ntigurirwa explains. “Because memory is collective, not individual.”

Asked whether this work is also environmental, Ntigurirwa nods. “We live in a world drowning in textile waste. Art must also challenge the system. We throw away things that once mattered deeply. That is not just waste — it’s amnesia.”

Through this exhibition, Ntigurirwa turns textile into testimony, inviting audiences to rethink the material and emotional residue of the things we wear and discard. The old clothes, once hidden away, now find purpose in a public reckoning with memory, forgetting, and the stories we leave behind.

“Threads of Memory: The Forgotten Laundry” displayed at Indiba Arts Space, Kigali, throughout the week. Visitors are encouraged to bring an item of unused clothing to contribute to the evolving installation.

 “Clothes are the skin of memory,” Ntigurirwa says. “When we forget them, we forget part of ourselves.”