Time After Time, Vanessa Brown, at Passages (Troyes)

Time After Time is Canadian artist Vanessa Brown’s first solo exhibition in France. Based in Luxembourg, Brown explores in this project both the persistence of gestures and recurring motifs over time, as well as what might lie “after time” — in a more metaphysical sense. The exhibition’s title, borrowed from Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 melancholic pop ballad, evokes philosophical reflections on the nature of time: not only as linear succession or becoming, but also as simultaneity, evanescence, and transition. Themes of care, protection, and sorority run through the song’s lyrics — themes that resonate deeply within Brown’s artistic practice. Her work blends craft-based techniques into installations that are at once dreamlike and physically grounded, balancing fragility and presence. Brown’s practice navigates a tension between temporalities: between the urgencies of the present and a poetic attention to the traces of gestures and stories that came before us. Recurring symbols often appear in her work — a hand, a moth, a key, stitched knots, armored dresses… — suspended somewhere between dream and reality. Many of the forms featured in the exhibition draw direct inspiration from the local context of Troyes, with its deep ties to hosiery, care, and the ongoing preservation of this material heritage still visible in the public space today. Time After Time was conceived entirely for the art centre and unfolds across all five of its exhibition rooms. The project extends into the city with Vapeurs, a site-specific installation created for the Apothicary de Troyes — a partner in the project and a rich source of inspiration for the artist. Time After Time is a solo exhibition by Vanessa Brown, presented at CAC Passages in Troyes, France. The exhibition runs for three months, from May 17 to August 9. Drawing from the history and architecture of the house, Vanessa Brown structures her project into five distinct spaces. Like a dream, the audience is invited to experience a series of sensations, emotions, and impressions. To achieve this, the artist has created a new in situ production combining metal, glass, and textiles. The exhibition takes into account the history of the building—formerly a hosiery and dyeing workshop—as well as its connection to the city's historic apothecary. Building on these legacies, Vanessa Brown weaves into her work themes of healing, clothing, protection, and craftsmanship