For us French people, Jane Birkin is “Jane”! Serge Gainsbourg is “Gainsbourg”. And Jane B. is like a family member; we have frequented her since the end of the 60s, that is to say that she is part of our collective unconscious!
We know her life, her style, her loves, her successes, her sorrows, her commitments, her smile and that accent…
A few years ago, Jane Birkin had come to the Gallery during a previous opening, she seemed quite fragile in the middle of the crowd, I wanted to protect her from solicitations and other selfies … Useless! The public was so happy with her presence and so kind … It was a very beautiful moment, very sweet, unforgettable … All these tender words, these smiles and this respect, natural and delicate.
The Jane Birkin effect: familiarity, love and respect!
Following a happy coincidence, I realized that our photographer Tony Frank was present at Régine’s near Deauville in 1969, during a lunch with Serge and Jane, and that Andrew, Jane’s big brother was also there with his camera. I found it fun to compare the two series, and to compare their views on that day. Then looking at the other pictures of Andrew, I wanted to put in parallel the works of these two photographers, witnesses in their own way of unique moments of this unforgettable couple.
Tony, accomplice of Gainsbourg’s best years, and Andrew, Jane’s life partner, who allow us, through their generosity, to access moments in the lives of these two artists who have marked our minds so much.
Julia Gragnon
TONY FRANK & ANDREW BIRKIN : JANE B.
From December 13, 2019 to March 1, 2020
GALERIE DE L’INSTANT
46, rue de Poitou
Paris 75003
