The Biarritz Media Library offers us a retrospective of 30 years of images, linking the American photographer to the Basque Country.
American teaching photographer, and member of the VU agency since 1993, Anne Rearick has developed documentary work close to her contemporaries, through a humanist perspective. It was on the occasion of the publication of the book Gure Bazterrak – Our landscapes – that the city of Biarritz decided to honor it.
Arriving from the East Coast of the USA, she has immersed herself in the rural Basque Country since 1990, staying there several times and letting time take its course. Her images are bubbles of everyday life, and the photographer strives to be around her subject rather than contemplating it. Images with subtle contrasts, in accordance with the fragility of this preserved world, they reflect a practice of proximity, capturing the spirit of a country as close as possible to its inhabitants, in their most diverse and ordinary activities. . A retrospective which offers an astonishing contrast with the hustle and bustle and lifestyle of the nearby coast, its surf spots and its famous beaches. Here, contact with nature, the geography of the country and human relationships give rhythm to existence.
“I knew little about Basque culture, except that it had a reputation for being secretive and that foreigners were not necessarily received with open arms; I found these preconceived ideas a little curious… I didn’t know at that time to what extent the Basque Country and its way of life would invade my heart.”
Work on the farm, country walks and intimate moments, thirty years of the artist’s relationship with the Basque Country are given to us to see. Shepherds, café owners, teenagers or farmers, a whole series of meetings and connections are established, reserving for the artist a place of her own, which will await her on each new trip. What emerges are photographs full of naturalness and gentleness, the protagonists themselves seeming surprised and touched by such attention. The simplicity of their way of life and their modesty rub off on the images, which are anything but demonstrative.
Note that the exhibition will then move to the other side of the border, to be installed in the Okendo cultural center in San Sebastian.
Jean-Jacques Ader
“Gure bazterrak” (Our landscapes) photography exhibition at the Biarritz media library from September 7 to November 2, 2024; opening on October 18 and signing meeting with Anne Rearick on October 26 at 11 a.m. in the auditorium. From November 15, 2024 at the Okendo cultural center in San Sebastian (Esp)
Publication of the book Gure Bazterrak by Deadbeatclub Press (Los Angeles)
https://www.mediatheque-biarritz.fr/
https://www.annerearick.com/
