An invitation from the photography archives of the CNA Centre National de l'Audiovisuel... Bertien van Manen: Give Me Your Image A exhibition by the Centre national de l'audiovisuel within the frame of EUROPEAN MONTH OF PHOTOGRAPHY October 10th - November 03th, 2006 Tuesday - Sunday 10 am to 6 pm fermé jours fériés Opening octobre 11th, 18 pm Fondation de l'Architecture et de l'Ingénierie 1, rue de l'Aciérie Luxembourg-Hollerich Centre national de l'audiovisuel Département photographie Boîte postale 105 L-3402 Dudelange Luxembourg Tel: + 352 52 24 24-1 Fax: + 352 52 06 55 Website: www.cna.lu Email: info@cna.etat.lu The photography department of the CNA and the archivist and researcher Claire Lathuille together developed the concept for this exhibition project, which consists of two parts. The first highlights Luxembourg's photographic heritage, in particular the portrait. Upon entering the archives, these images lose all claims to privacy. They become public documents and henceforth their interest takes on a historical, sociological, aesthetic and technical meaning. The maintenance, archiving and exploitation of these images mean they undergo restoration and digitalisation processes, become integrated in a database, are made available for research purposes and can be included in publications and exhibitions, such as the present one held in the context of the European Month of Photography. The second part of the exhibition envisions a confrontation and dialogue between portraits archived at the CNA and contemporary artistic photography using the same genre of photographs as its subject. To achieve this, the CNA chose to team up with the Dutch photographer Bertien van Manen and to exhibit her photography work entitled Give Me Your Image. At the heart of this collection are portraits of family, friends and famous faces, uncovered against a private and intimate backdrop. Within defined frames and precise settings, Bertien van Manen allows us to discover a universe of memories and emotions and to recognise their importance to all of our daily lives. Give Me Your Image is the outcome of a work commissioned by the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs on immigrants in the suburbs of Paris. Within a short space of time, Bertien van Manen decided to expand the project. Between 2002 and 2005, she travelled round Europe (Lithuania, Greece, Germany, Italy, Austria, France, Bulgaria, Moldavia, etc.) to meet families and document how they display personal photographs in their home environment. She found pictures stored in albums (which she rearranged in the room with permission from the owners), hanging on walls, displayed in showcases as well as amid all sorts of objects. In the homes of immigrants, she was intrigued to see photographs evoking their home country, and in others, excerpts from family histories, holiday memories and the worship of political idols. Give Me Your Image thus became an intimate documentation of the arrangement and display of portraits within domestic environments, while at the same time accentuating traces of war, oppression, moments of happiness and sadness, or the zest for life. The portrait in the photography collections of the CNA. The archive images featured in this exhibition were selected from the photography collections of the CNA. These images, gleaned from private sources, are the work of both professional and amateur photographers. The often classic portraits and intimate photographs bear witness to the various supports and formats used, depending on the period of the creation of these images and their intended purpose. Daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, prints, painted photographs, featured in albums, on jewellery or on walls, all these memories of close relatives and friends, strangers and celebrities, have formed a special relationship of cohabitation with private individuals. As a result, prior to their arrival at the CNA, these creations have all followed different paths. For this exhibition, images have been selected from different collections of specific interest according to origin. The final selection from these various collections was carried out in collaboration with Bertien van Manen, the photographer and author of the exhibited work. As a result, the CNA is able to accentuate and bring to light its archives by showcasing them from a contemporary angle.