SUMMERTIME
(1929 – 1992)
Stories be told.
From 1929 to 1992, the stories are retold over the course of a summer day. An archive photo discovered during an excavation session becomes the starting point for the investigation. I follow up the thread and investigate.
The intimate image is the preamble to a reflection on themes that are important to me, either personal or contextual, such as family, sibling relationships, gender, or even the mechanisms of reminiscence.
The stories are told through a corpus of archive photographs collected over the years. The techniques (oil, monotype, screen printing, pastels, video, etc.) alternate and the images change tones as the story unfolds.
A DAY AT THE LAKE, 1929
Three brothers and two sisters-in-law are out. Paul is the youngest. It is said about him in the family that he is an eternal bachelor, that he has “manners”.
Memory of a day at the lake.
JUDITH AND TIM, 1931
Judith is my grandmother. She died in 1993 and I know little about her. I learned that she had a brother, Tim.
LES TONDEURS DE GAZON, 1972
Yves is an advertising employee for a Swedish lawn tractor-mower company. He participates with his colleagues in a conference in the United States
SMIMMING-POOL, 1976
It is English side summer, teenagers are havfun on the diving board. Meanwhile there is an killerwhale in the middle of the pool.
THERESE’S WEDDING, 1992
Party favors and spinning napkins. At cousin Thérèse’s wedding, the party was in full swing and I remember that.
A day at the lake, 1929
It’s summer in 1929. Three brothers and two sisters-in-law are out.
Paul is the youngest. It is said about him in the family that he is an eternal bachelor, that he has “manners”.
The group spends a day at the lake.
Le déjeuner sur l’herbe, 2022
Oil on canvas / 116 x 81 cm
Isabelle – Louise – Paul – Henri – Gaston, 2022
Dry pastels on Fabriano paper / 20 x 20 cm
Au lac, 2022
Huile sur toile / 210 x 140 cm
Pause en route, 2022
Screenprinting and dry pastels / 40 x 32 cm
The gang, 2022
Screenprinting / 40 x 32 cm
Paul, 1929
Of the Uncle Paul born in 1906 I remember the single bed in the family home. I found drawings and ink from his youth.
Shame or pride, I wonder: what was going through Uncle Paul’s head before leaving for the ball?
Paul, 2022
Screenprinting / 20 x 15 cm
Before leaving to the ball / “Avant de partir au bal”,
Chinese ink, 30 x 20 cm
Are you proud? / “Es-tu fier de toi ?”, 2021
Digital drawing on archive
Before leaving to the ball, 2021
Screenprinting / 40 x 32 cm
Are you proud? / “Es-tu fier de toi ?”, 2022
Mural, Torino (Italy)
Judith and Tim, 1931
Judith is my grandmother, who died in 1993. I have her first name on my identity papers, but I know little about her.
English, daughter of colonial settlers, she grew up in Kenya. I recently learned that she had a brother, Tim.
Judith and Tim, 1931. Archive image
Judith and Tim, 2022
Oil on canvas / 116 x 81 cm
Judith and Tim, 2022
Screenprinting / 40 x 32 cm
Tim joined the Royal Marines, 1944
Monotype on Japanese paper / 50 x 35 cm
Tim hit South Pole I/II, 2022
Monotype / 70 x 50 cm (Collection privée)
Tim hit South Pole II/II, 2022
Monotype / 70 x 50 cm
Tim hit South Pole, 2022
Monotype sur rhodoïde / 70 x 50 cm
Les tondeurs de gazon, 1972
1972, USA. Yves is an advertising employee in a Swedish lawn mower tractor company.
He is participating with his colleagues in a seminar in the United States.
The lawn mowers are out.
The view (1972), 2022
Oil on canvas / 160 x 140 cm
The view, 1972. Archive.
Boys and cars, 2022
Screenprinting / 64 x 40 cm
Bunny weenie, 2022
Screenprinting / 40 x 32 cm
The crew, 2022
Screenprinting / 40 x 32 cm
Swimming-pool, 1976
It’s summertime in the English countryside. A killer whale emerges from the water.
In suspension, it is about to tap with its nose a fluorescent yellow balloon which is swinging at the end of a string.
The same summer two sisters and a brother laugh on the diving board. They have fun jumping into the water. They no longer speak to each other today.
Sometimes it seems to me that the situation can become as big as a killer whale in the middle of a swimming pool.
Swimming-pool, 2022
Oil on canvas / 100 x 100 cm
L’orque dans la piscine, 2022
Oil on canvas / 100 x 100 cm
Le mariage de Thérèse, 1992
Thérèse is a cousin from Pau, from a branch with which we have lost connection.
I remember her wedding with very specific flashes when I look at the photos of all party fun – and spinning napkins.
I’m three and a half years old and this is my first dated memory. However, I don’t know if I remember it because the photos exist,
or because the intensity of the party stayed with me.
La chenille, 2022
Oil on canvas / 100 x 70 cm
Spinning towels, 2022
Screenprinting 10 colors / 64 x 40 cm
A table 2022
Pigments transfer, 29,7 x 21 cm
Cotillons 2022
Wall hanging, ink on vintage Yves Saint Laurent shirt from the 90ies
Caroline Delétoille
STUDIO
La Fabrique, atelier d’artistes
2 rue Edouard Vasseur
94200 Ivry, France