Photomachinées - March 31 through September 24, 2023

The work of anonymous creators from all over the world, the 452 images making up the Photomachinées collection reflect a long and painstaking scouring of flea markets and junk shops by two passionate collectors.

Neither photographs nor art objects in the fullest sense, these images have all undergone a "machination" aimed at "diverting" the function of the originals. The motives and reasons underlying this process vary considerably in nature and intent and can be difficult to explain.

Having made their debut in the mid-19th century, these creations, like paper photography, disappeared with the advent of digital technology. They form a body of work ranging from simple cut-outs to more complex combinations of painting, drawing, embroidery, collage and other processes.

Accumulation of this kind of material reveals similarities which, regardless of their geographical origin and period of production, make it possible to form ensembles. The exhibition is thus divided into different categories that refer to themes and practices inherent in anonymous photography generally. 

This "diverting" of family photographs ties in with the outputs of Art Brut artists who, it should be remembered, disregard artistic conventions, revisiting as they see fit everything that comes to hand and gleefully reinterpreting the models they sometimes use or are inspired by.

In this context dialogue becomes feasible between these Photomachinées and Art Brut; links are formed between media and concepts which in theory could not have been more foreign to each other.

In turn touching, funny and emotionally charged, these images stimulate our taste for the unusual, the weird and the strange, encouraging us to face works that deviate from social norms and conventions, and that we discover out in unknown territory.

This group of works was donated to the Collection de L’Art Brut in 2021 by Antoine Gentil and Lucas Reitalov.

Curator: Antoine Gentil.

The Photomachinées show in the medias:

Le Matin, Marika Buffat, Mais qui a gribouillé Grand-Maman?, 2 April 2023
RSI, Lou Lepori, Le immagini anonime e poetiche di "Photomachinées", 3 April 2023
RTS, Téléjournal, Julie Evard, À Lausanne, la Collection de l’Art Brut expose des photomachinées, photographies dénichées aux puces et chez les brocanteurs, 19 April 2023
fotointern.ch, Urs Tillmanns, «Photomachinées» – zweckentfremdete Fotografien, 23 April 2023
La Liberté, Aurélie Lebreau, La Collection de l'Art Brut met à l'honneur des photos détournées, 21 April 2023
Libération, Clémentine Mercier, Faites de familles, 30 April 2023
RTS/ Vertigo, Florence Grivel, Y'a pas photo!, 4 May 2023
Bon pour la tête, Michel Laird, La photo s'aventure sur le terrain de l'art brut, 21 April 2023
Raw Vision N°115, Astrid Berglund, A Different Take, summer 2023
Le club de Mediapart, Guillaume Lasserre, Photomachinées. De l'art de détourner les images en famille, 24 juillet 2023