© Véronique Bourgoin. Detail installation, Vrai ou Faux?, Vienna
Nederlands Fotomuseum Rotterdam Wilhelminakade 332 NL-3001 Rotterdam Pays-Bas
True or false? This question is central in the exhibition Véronique Bourgoin: « VRAI OU FAUX? | TRUE OR FALSE? ACT I & ACT II » , which is on view in the Nederlands Fotomuseum from the 1st of June to the 1st of September 2013.
The exhibition consists of a space-filling installation made by Véronique Bourgoin. Drawing on a vast collection of contemporary and historic photographs, this French artist is playing with the concepts 'true' and 'false'. This subject matter is central in a life-sized trompe-l’oeil installation where visitors are taken along in an illusory world.
"Vrai ou Faux?" emphasizes the subjective character of concepts such as 'true' and 'false'. 'Truth' and 'real' have become relative notions, both in and outside photography. The boundaries between real and artificial have been blurred, not only in the image (through forms of manipulation that are increasingly becoming accepted), but also as a consequence of the more and more radical relativization of 'truth' in society, economics, politics and even science. Experts and institutions are forfeiting their authority in favour of laymen. Views and opinions have come to be more important than knowledge and facts. The exhibition "Vrai ou Faux?" aims to visualize that transformation.
© Véronique Bourgoin. Detail installation, Vrai ou Faux?, Vienna
Trompe l’oeil
For the exhibition "Vrai ou Faux?", Véronique Bourgoin designed an extensive trompe l’oeil installation in two rooms, with a setting of intimate living rooms. In these private environments she shows work from a variety of sources. The collection includes historic images, but also work by contemporary European artists and from daily papers and the internet. By means of a unique composition of images the installation aims to visualize the transforming effect of truth, on a local and international scale alike. Whether it concerns aesthetics, culture, the environment, the media, the economy or social behaviour, the role and significance of 'truth' is subject to change.
Travelling exhibition
"Vrai ou Faux?" has been on display at various places in Europe and at every location it responds to topical themes. In addition the exhibition is supplemented by work of local artists and photographers who have participated in the workshops, and from collections. In the exhibition of the Nederlands Fotomuseum it involves work by Erik Kessels, Paul Kooiker and Bastiaan van der Velden. From the collection of the Nederlands Fotomuseum Bourgoin selected images by Violette Cornelius, Bob van Dam / Combipress, Wally Elenbaas, Bernard F. Eilers, Ed van der Elsken, Lucebert, Cas Oorthuys, Peter Martens, Hans Spies, Hannes Wallrafen, Lies Wiegman and Piet Zwart, among others. Of Bernard F. Eilers she selected magnificent Amsterdam School interiors of the Binnenhuis, J.A. Snellebrand and Pieter Vorkink.
© Véronique Bourgoin. Detail installation, Vrai ou Faux?, Vienna