Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is pleased to present That Which We Want To Remember/Aquello Que Queremos Recordar, a site-specific installation by resident-artist alumna Lorena Morales, in which cascading strands of wooden beads form a luminous, hovering house—an architecture of memory, labor, and care set within HCCC’s Craft Garden.

During her residency, Morales invited museum visitors to join her in a communal making practice, sharing personal stories of home while collaboratively threading strands of wooden beads. The beads were dyed using natural pigments, including coffee and plants like turmeric, elderberry, and hibiscus that are grown in the garden, grounding the work in both place and process. As participants worked, Morales encouraged them to reflect on moments of warmth, care, and belonging. Across many different experiences of “home,” the project affirms that there are memories worth holding onto.

Throughout the project, Morales also recorded participants describing memories of their homes—stories of kitchens, gardens, voices, migrations, and everyday rituals. These intimate reflections were compiled into a layered soundscape that fills the space. Mixed with the soft rhythm of wooden beads brushing and clinking against one another, the voices come together to create a sonic record of collective memory.

That Which We Want To Remember/Aquello Que Queremos Recordar was produced by Lorena Morales and more than 400 participants and curated by HCCC Curatorial Fellow, Zaynab Hilal.