Transitions: La photographie dans le canton de Neuchâtel 1840-1970, Musee D’Art et D’Histoire Neuchâtel, Switzerland

This summer, many galleries and museums in Neuchâtel are collaborating and celebrating photography. This retrospective exhibition at the Musee D’Art et D’Histoire Neuchâtel traces 130 years of photography in the canton of Neuchâtel from 1840-1970.

The exhibition is comprised of 350 high-quality images from fifteen cantonal institutions and photography centres in Switzerland. The exhibition project is the result of the analysis of half a million photographs, building partnerships between photography, research and conservation institutions. This included:

• Swiss Institute for the Conservation of Photography
• Institute of Art History and Museology of the University of Paris
• Audiovisual Department of the City Library of La Chaux-de-Fonds (DAV)

The trio of curators – Jean-Christophe Blaser, Christophe Brandt and Chantal Lafontant Vallotton – must be applauded. What a mammoth task and all their hard work shines through in the exhibition.

The exhibition design and layout were simple, letting the photographs speak for themselves. Black and white walls with silver and bronze-toned feature walls broke up what could’ve potentially become a monotonous exhibition made up predominately of black and white images.

Most images were reproductions from negatives, block mounted on light beech-coloured blocks. This meant there were no issues with touching distance, and no annoying barricades getting in the visitors’ way.

The first section of the exhibition Les Plus Anciennes Photographies featured two showcases housing delicate daguerreotypes, glass plate negatives and stereoscopes. While the exhibition was mainly chronological, some sections were purely thematic, such as L’Art du Portrait and Nocturnes.

As I’ve only lived in Neuchâtel for two years, this exhibition gave me a great insight into the history of the town and region.

If you’d like to read more about the exhibition, here is a link to the exhibition brochure (only available in French) and the museum website. The exhibition runs until 15 October 2017.