Bernard Faucon – 19ème chambre d’amour – 1986

Fresson Photograph
Executed in 1986, Printed 2008
Signed, titled, dated and editioned # 33/40 on verso.
Size 30 x 30 cm (11.81 x 11.8 in.)

In “19ème chambre d’amour” from the “Chambres d’amour” series, the viewer is drawn into a quiet, contemplative space that speaks volumes of childhood and the remnants of love. The scene is hushed, lit by a soft, natural light that filters through the window, casting a serene glow over the stark room with its time-worn walls.

The eye is drawn to a dried starfish nailed to the wall, suggesting a moment captured, a cherished memory forcefully anchored in place. This starfish, perhaps once a treasured find of a child’s seaside adventure, now serves as a poignant symbol of the past held in permanent stasis, a natural relic that stands in stark contrast to the decaying grandeur of the floral arrangement that dominates the room.

On the bed, among the chaos of wilting petals and leaves, lies a vivid red flyswatter. Its placement is enigmatic and intentional, striking in its color against the subdued palette of the room. This object may be Faucon’s nod to the intrusion of the outside world into this sanctum of memories, a reminder of the mundane, everyday aspects of life that persist amidst our deepest moments of reminiscence and affection. It disrupts the romanticism of the scene, bringing with it a layer of grounded reality, perhaps a commentary on the inevitable presence of death and decay, or a whimsical contrast to the solemnity of the chamber of love.

Faucon’s “Chambres d’amour” series is steeped in symbolism, each element a carefully chosen character in a narrative of love, loss, and the passage of time. The red flyswatter, both jarring and mundane, might represent the banalities that intrude upon our sanctuaries of love, the ordinary that persists amidst the extraordinary, reminding us that life—and love—are composed of both the profound and the prosaic.