Tugu Kunstkring Paleis: Elles Vident Leur Sac – Fine Art Photography Exhibition by Pierre Klein

TUGU KUNSTKRING PALEIS
Jalan Teuku Umar No. 1, Menteng, Jakarta Pusat 10350 INDONESIA
Telepon (62-21) 390-0899 | Fax (62-21) 390-0898
E-Mail workmoretalkless@gmail.com

Tugu Kunstkring Paleis
-proudly presents-
Elles Vident Leur Sac
(Empty Your Bag)
Fine Art Photography Exhibition
by
Pierre Klein

Pierre Klein, a photographer and video-maker based in Paris, asked women to empty their bags and explain the contents for the purpose of an experimental project that lead to this unique exhibition entitled Elles Vident Leur Sac (Empty Your Bag). Apart from the literal sense of the title, this French expression also translates to “say what you have in your heart” in English.

When a female friend happened to spill the contents of her bag in his presence, with a guided commentary, Klein realized he had learned more about her in just a few minutes than in several months acquaintance. “Each object was linked to some anxiety or fear, with a story of its own. Once the contents were spread out on the counter, I saw the makings of a photo,” he explains. This was the starting point for the project. Over a period of 18 months, Klein filmed 50 women while emptying their bags, asking them to explain each item therein. Then he took a photograph of the result. “They very soon started talking about their private life,” he adds. “I had no idea they would go so far. They hadn’t realized the importance of what was in their bag.”

Since 2009, Pierre Klein has been quenching his curiosity by asking unprepared women of unspecified ages and background to empty their bags and tell him about the contents. The outside of a woman’s handbag is proudly displayed, but the objects concealed within reveal a more intimate story about a lady’s personality and her life. The filmed interviews would always begin with slight confusion and hesitation, but each woman would voluntarily empty her bag and describe its contents. What followed was similar to a session with a psychiatrist where the lady would start talking about her life and her state of mind at the moment, showing the deep evocative power of everyday objects. What a woman carries in her bag is truly a strong reflection of who she is.

Women’s handbags certainly contain an odd mixture of things, but there are generally two categories of objects : 1) things women consider essential (phone, keys, tissues, aspirin, makeup, wallet) and 2) everything else, i.e. all the apparently useless treasures related to memorable events, emotions and superstition.

But the oddest items may prove essential. For instance, one lady has a compass because she likes to sleep with her head to the north. To guard against ill luck many women carry charms, ranging from dollar bills to some personal token invested with magical powers, or a little doll or soft toy that becomes a comforter they unconsciously touch.

Some items recall happy or particularly intense moments. There are plenty of pebbles and seashells, perhaps a love letter, often photos of loved ones, little notebooks to record fleeting emotions, a phrase found in a magazine, the address of a restaurant, shopping lists, resolutions, the names of books.

Such a bag is reassuring, ready to cope with any situation one might encounter….. a book to read on a journey, a bottle of water in the event of thirst. Some carry teargas to ward off assailants. One woman who used to prefer small bags moved house after her husband’s death and switched to larger bags, laden with books and notebooks as if to fill the gap.

If a bag is lost or stolen, all hell breaks lose because the owner usually feels as though she has lost part of herself. For many, the handbag is a key piece in the day-to-day construction of identity. Some describe it as “a little house”, “a bit of myself”, “a mini me” or indeed “a memory store”.

But there is more to a bag than just its secret contents. It is also there to be seen. “It’s a female attribute, an expression of style,” Klein says. “A woman’s handbag is a bit like a man’s car; it corresponds to the image they wish to project.”

A handbag contains everything intimate relating to a lady’s body such makeup, lipstick, tampons and condoms. It’s a private space, an ambivalent object with an outside for show and mysteries hidden inside. One of the reasons women carry so much in their bags is that they act as “resource persons” for others. For the benefit of children, their partner, friends, relations or even workmates, their bag is full of comforters, items such as biscuits, wipes, sweets, tissues, water, etc.

This intriguing exhibition is open to the public from 1-18 August 2013 at Tugu Kunstkring Paleis.