I offer an exhibition of 41 photos of my “60s” pictures free of rights to be placed on the walls of all the nursing homes (EHPAD) in France who would like to have it for an indefinite period, with no rental fee, which they can keep for years if they wish.
As you know, these photos were made to hang on the walls of teenagers’ bedrooms. Today, their parents are on average between 90 and 100 years old and many of them are in nursing homes.
However, unconsciously my images, even if they were not their universe, remain for them the memory of happy days. As for the families who come to see them, it is their adolescence for many, their childhood for some. Incredibly lucky, these photos therefore are related to three generations.
What used to be called “rest homes” are like blank pages on which residents can no longer write anything. They have been taken from their homes, their environment, the objects of their life, they no longer have any landmarks and despite the devotion of the nurses (they are saints), there is no future, their only hope of survival is their memory, the last chance to exercise their brains.
The first exhibition took place in “Les Terrasses de Montviguier” nursing home in Figeac on May 12th, 2022.
Of course for establishments that want this exhibition, there will be the cost of making the prints, but as far as I am concerned, I will not ask for money or any royalties.
It is a question of trying to embellish the daily lives of these thousands of people who are dying of boredom and whom society prefers to forget. As for the families, it is for them the possibility of provoking countless conversations thanks to the faces of these young and beautiful artists.
That pictures pinned on the walls of teenagers 60 years ago can be found in nursing homes today, I find it poetic.
And poetry is very important for the morale of old people. I know, I’m getting there!
Jean-Marie Périer
For more information on the Ehpad “Yesterday and Today” exhibition:
Delphine Charon
Tel : 01 48 91 88 86
[email protected]
