How do you talk about your history? How is our identity constructed? To talk about herself, Gaëlle Encrenaz immersed herself in her family memories.
Drawing inspiration from her relationships with loved ones and the family she has created, she seeks to understand what unites them.
She began this project in the summer of 2023, sorting through the photographs left by her aunt, Colette Mallinjoud, who passed away that spring. For over 50 years, despite failing eyesight and with her unique perspective, Colette photographed her family with Polaroid cameras: everyday scenes, familiar objects, intimate moments.
"The Scent of the Fig Tree" is a family introspection where affinities emerge: a love of animals, a taste for nature and the mountains, but also shared solitudes. This series explores the construction of identity through the similarities and differences between generations. For the exhibition, it is enriched with new photographs and a photographic film created from the family Polaroids.
As an extension of the exhibition, a participatory project will bring together senior citizens and schoolchildren. The older adults will share memories and significant stories. The young people will give form to these stories through photography. All the images produced will be featured in a group exhibition at the end of the school year.
This artist residency is supported by the Department of Haute-Savoie, the DRAC Rhône-Alpes, the Grenoble Rectorate – DSDEN and the DAAC 74, as well as by the City of La Roche-sur-Foron and the municipality of Eteaux.
She began this project in the summer of 2023, sorting through the photographs left by her aunt, Colette Mallinjoud, who passed away that spring. For over 50 years, despite failing eyesight and with her unique perspective, Colette photographed her family with Polaroid cameras: everyday scenes, familiar objects, intimate moments.
"The Scent of the Fig Tree" is a family introspection where affinities emerge: a love of animals, a taste for nature and the mountains, but also shared solitudes. This series explores the construction of identity through the similarities and differences between generations. For the exhibition, it is enriched with new photographs and a photographic film created from the family Polaroids.
As an extension of the exhibition, a participatory project will bring together senior citizens and schoolchildren. The older adults will share memories and significant stories. The young people will give form to these stories through photography. All the images produced will be featured in a group exhibition at the end of the school year.
This artist residency is supported by the Department of Haute-Savoie, the DRAC Rhône-Alpes, the Grenoble Rectorate – DSDEN and the DAAC 74, as well as by the City of La Roche-sur-Foron and the municipality of Eteaux.
