Exhibition: Reflet des rives, from the Charente to Vietnam

From marshes to rice paddies, from France to Vietnam, from Rochefort to the bay of Rạch Giá.

The relationship with distant Vietnam, which prefigures this project, is first announced in small written touches in books. With Lettres rochefortaises (narrative) and Vacance du retour (novel) by François Rochon, in the preambles to Camembert, fromage de France et du Monde, and Cognac, un alcool de terroir dans le Monde, by Huỳnh Thị Ngọc Hân, as well as in the collective effort Veillées du fleuve aux pays de Pierre Loti (Loti 2023).

Then, between November 2023 and January 2024, a 2-month residency in Vietnam enabled the collection of an original body of documentary photographs and a travel diary, which is currently being used. At the same time, a project for a collective work following on from the Veillées du fleuve, entitled ‘Femmes de confluence’ (Women of Confluence) with the same sub-title, Aux pays de Pierre Loti (In the Land of Pierre Loti), is moving from the past of our territory to the present, from here to there and from French to Vietnamese.

Continuing its intention to explore the imaginary of the river between here and elsewhere, begun in 2020, the Sas-culture is offering a new look at the real and imaginary links between our area of the Rochefort marshes, inspiring the local identity of the inhabitants, and an area of south-west Vietnam. The creative approach continues to develop the same attachments, highlighting the figure of the woman, the use of the written word and photography, long-distance encounters and the memory of Pierre Loti. However, the international dimension is reinforced here, beyond the French-speaking world, by the desire to confront the language barrier, expressing a profound desire for communication through the sharing of cultures.

Imagining the river between here and elsewhere: a creative approach since 2020

After Des rives Atlantiques (2020-2022), Julie Boileau's long-term residency in Amazonia, with the support of Rochefort Océan and the Nouvelle Aquitaine region, then Veillées du fleuve (2022-2023) as part of Pierre Loti's centenary celebrations in Lebanon, with the support of the Musée Hèbre and the Charente-Maritime region, Sas-culture is continuing its exploration with Reflet des rives (since 2024), now looking towards Vietnam.

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