Everyday Clothes at MEP

This exhibition is designed for young visitors and families who wish to discover photography through a selection of works from the MEP’s collections

Overview

In dialogue with the PENN & FASHION exhibition, the exhibition invites us to take a fresh look at an object we are all familiar with: clothing. We wear clothes every day to protect ourselves from the cold or the sun. We also pick them out to feel good, to get noticed, to look like everyone else… or, on the contrary, to stand out from the crowd. 

In fashion photography, clothes are often carefully chosen and staged. The settings, lighting, poses and attitudes are designed to create an image: that of a style, a dream, an era or a personality. 

But photographers are also interested in everyday clothes, which sometimes bear the marks of life: creases, stains, holes, mends and signs of wear and tear. These clothes can give you clues about the person wearing them, their occupation, the era they lived in, their habits or their way of life. They may even preserve the memory of a story: that of a family, a trade, a place, a generation… or simply the memory of a moment in life. 

Each photographer has taken a different approach to looking at clothes… and people: a texture, a detail, a posture, a face, a setting. 

So, what do these clothes really tell us? It’s up to you to look closely at the photographs…
Who is wearing these clothes?
Where is the person?
What can we guess about their life?
Why did the photographer choose to show this item of clothing? 

The exhibition includes works by artists Despatin & Gobeli, Ralph Gibson, August Sander, Albrecht Tübke, and Xavier Zimmermann.