When was the last (or first) time you captured an image of your mother?
An intimate exhibition exploring artists' relationships with their mother (LE BAL, Paris 18)
“Undoubtedly, I will feel incomplete until I have written something inspired by her”
This statement by Roland Barthes (Mourning Diary, 1978) is the starting point for this intimate and poignant exhibition exploring the filial and maternal relationships between artists and their mothers. Whether joyful, sorrowful, affectionate, or conflicted… our emotional connection with our mothers leaves an indelible mark on us and shapes who we become. Often out of modesty, we forget to express our gratitude or feelings or we do so too late. With this exhibition, LE BAL is paying tribute to those who carried, nurtured, and then let us fly. It brings together the works of 26 artists who have captured their mother or the memories and symbols she left.
In this newsletter, I chose 8 pieces that have touched me the most. And if you find yourself in Paris, I invite you to pass by and visit the exhibition => it's at LE BAL (Paris 18) until February 25th
The Distinguished
Hervé Guibert endeavors to capture the beauty of his mother through photography, underscoring the complexity of the maternal relationship and the author's aesthetic desires. The inclusion of Michèle Morgan's photograph adds a layer of symbolism, highlighting the mother's aspirations to emulate a glamorous and actress-like figure. This detail contributes to shaping the dynamics of the relationship between the author and his mother, as captured in this photo session. I invite you to discover more details on this link.
The Mute
A tribute to his mother, herself an artist and photographer, affected by the collective addictions of a declining industrial city in the United States. The artist managed to forge a connection with her mother through art and photography: 'Photographing has been a way to build my relationship with my mother.'
The Psychoanalyst
Michel Journiac here transforms into Renée and Robert Journiac (his parents), with their complicity, to satirize the excesses of Freudianism in the society of the 70s-80s. More details can be found on this link.
The Spitter
Since 2000, Ragnar Kjartansson poses every 5 years with here mother as a family ritual, allowing her to spit on him for 20 minutes. Between discomfort and absurdity, the video intends to showcase a unique joy in familial complicity... I didn't last the full 20 minutes.
The Icon
After years of discord with her mother, the Japanese artist is overwhelmed by regret for not having been able to communicate at the time of her mother's death. Here, she sheds light on her mother's cherished objects, treating them like icons in a museum.
The Separting
A poignant series of photos depicting the artist's mother in a hospital in Tehran on the day of the artist's birth… Yes birth, but the subject matter could gives a feeling of death. Paired with a text by Chantal Akerman, the series appears to me as a reflection on upcoming death.
The Funny One
I love that one ! Anna and Bernhard Blume delight in transforming living spaces into theatrical scenes of chaos. Here, Bernhard stages himself jumping on sofa with his mother. Ray on sunshine in my day.
The Traveler
The most poetic series of the exhibition. Upon the passing of her mother, who had always dreamt of traveling to the North Pole, the artist decides to bury her mother's jewelry there to preserve the maternal dream forever. We are flirting with Greek immortality, here…
The Exit
And if you go visit the exhibition, don't forget, on the way out of the stairs...
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Have a great week.
Charles