First of all, one observation must be made. La Forêt de mon rêve(My Dream Forest) is a very lush one. In drawing the first outlines of this exhibition, our desire was to evoke the folk tale and its many tributaries: fantasy tales, fairy tales, märchen… It was not about undertaking a new definition in view of contemporary practices, nor to establish a theoretical corpus that would be added to the many analyses that abound in the field. Rather, the intention was rather to offer a sensitive and original vision, nourished by a great diversity of artistic practices, from photography to drawing, literature, sculpture and cinema.
Hansel and Gretel, Alice in Wonderland, Little Thumb, Pinocchio, Little Red Riding Hood… were the first references that guided us. Folk tales that invented, in a sense, those moments that punctuate the history of children’s literature: the child’s encounter with the unknown, his wandering in an enchanting or frightening nature. These moments filled with evil characters and dark dreams. As it germinated, this forest brought back our childhood, our own reading memories, sweet and terrifying memories. When this forest began to grow, we were surprised by the swarming worlds that offered themselves to our exploration. We pulled the bobbin, and the latch gave away.
As part of its programming year devoted to the world of childhood, the Galerie d’art du Conseil général des Bouches-du-Rhône invited Nathalie Guimard and Vincent Tuset-Anrès, Fotokino’s directors, to curate this exhibition.
With works by: Aline Ahond, Grégoire Alexandre, Alice Anderson, Stephan Balkenhol, Frédérique Bertrand, Louise Bourgeois, Olaf Breuning, Mat Collishaw, Daniel Depoutot, Gustave Doré, Marie Ducaté, Bernard Faucon, Anna Gaskell, Hervé Graumann, François Houtin, Colette Hyvrard, Laurent Le Deunff, Karen Louÿs, Bertrand Mandico, Lorenzo Mattotti, Corinne Mercadier, Sarah Moon, Muriel Moreau, Polixeni Papapetrou, Pamen Pereira, Renaud Perrin, Chloé Poizat, Noémie Privat, Françoise Quardon, Jean-Jacques Rullier, Kiki Smith, Ladislas Starewitch, Gerda Steiner et Jörg Lenzlinger, Roland Topor, Janaina Tschäpe, Tim Walker.
