"Cabinets of curisosity" 23 May-8 June 2008, Bath

Marina Rees


An exhibition curated by Jan Evans and Anne-Laure Franchette

The whole story behind the exhibition is as follows:
Our friend, the collector, Sebastian de Bois d'Argent, has decided to compile his own personal Chamber of Wonders. He has learnt through his research that, according to Gabriel Kaltemarkt, the three "indespensible" items in forming any art chamber are: "firstly: sculptures and paintings, secondly: curious items from home and abroad, and thirdly: antlers, horns, claws, feathers, and things belonging to strange and curious animals." We have asked to collect, select and commission appropriate objects and works for his room. This search so far has led to the compilation of family portraits, travel mementos, textile art, specimens, dreamy and magical objects.

Presented here is the collection in its current state, featuring the work of: Ellie Evans, Anne-Laure Franchette, Sarah Hardacre, Thomas Mills, Tabitha Kyoko Moses, Mariona Otero, Marina Rees, Elly Stringer, Gabriel de Vesdge, Elizabeth Willow.






Elizabeth Willow


Tabitha Kyoko Moses


Ellie Evans


Mariona Otero



Gabriel de Vesdge




Images by Anne-Laure Franchette

"Le typique et le stéréotype" 3 May-14 July 2007, Manchester

A wealthy inhabitant of the Rive Gauche in Paris; an 18th Century enlightenment figure; Mr Dupont cycling back with the staple French food, bread, wine and onions: stereotypes, which have been captured in images. These have been obtained through a mutually constructive, participatory process, whereby the models were invited to single out their own typical French mental Image. Characters playfully explore a selection of French archetypes from a British point of view. It has provided an opportunity to work with cross references in an extended picture history, manipulating both the portrait's genre and French stereotypes according to the wishes of the participant: for example, the Ancien Regime portrait, the documentary, the fashion shoot, and the rural peasant, the urban sophisticate, the philosopher or even, the re-making of a cult movie scene "Bande à part" from Jean-Luc Godard.
For the french photographer, it is also a way of pursuing her quest into identity and displacement, not least her own, as is it further emphasised by the balance offered by the portraits of the French migrants. The pictures of the five French men, taken at the door of their Mancunian workplaces, complement the stills extracted from a previous animated work Five French Girls in their Mancunian Bedrooms (2006).
Through snapshots of the real lives of compatriots together with visual constructions relying on signs and symbols, the photographer might see where she physically stands - somewhere in, the North of England - with the benefit of a visual perspective.