Saint Laurent Rive Droite Paris presents 5bis, an exhibition of actor and musician Charlotte Gainsbourg’s photographs of her father’s home, from September 24 to December 2, curated by Anthony Vaccarello.
Singer and songwriter Serge Gainsbourg lived at 5bis Rue de Verneuil for 22 years. The interior remained intact after his death in 1991, and the house opened to the public in September 2023 as part of Maison Gainsbourg. His daughter made the photographs before that opening, returning to rooms where she had once lived.
In her text for the Arles exhibition, Gainsbourg writes, “I look before it slips away.” She describes working alone, sometimes by day and sometimes at night, choosing what to photograph without touching it. Her return to the house produced what is, per Saint Laurent, “an act of love, memory, and remembrance.”
Saint Laurent Editions accompanies the exhibition with a book by Vaccarello, reproducing 59 photographs alongside printed versions of Gainsbourg’s handwritten texts. The standard edition comprises 1,000 copies and is listed at $130 in the United States.
Fifteen limited-edition books include five silver gelatin prints each. Nine artist’s editions add a further print and, per the brand, “an original text handwritten by Charlotte Gainsbourg herself.”
Gainsbourg will sign books at Saint Laurent Rive Droite Paris on October 1, with a limited number of signed copies available to buy. All artworks exhibited at the Paris store will also be for sale.
