Summer holidays and photos are inextricably linked: the first thing that people pack, after their passport, tickets and money, is their camera. Les vacances de Monsieur Grunberg, a project by novelist Arnon Grunberg and visual artist Wendela Hubrecht, will be on show at Foam from 9 February 2012. Les vacances is a sequel to Grunberg's 'embedment' with various families from the Leidsche Rijn suburb in Utrecht. 'Embedded' here means staying with a family and participating in their daily activities. Grunberg wanted to more extensively investigate the phenomenon of the family by taking a holiday with them: 'A family on a holiday is a family in a warzone - or to be more concise - in a state of war. That's how I see it.' It started in 2010 with a notice in the newspapers. Following a two-day audition with thirty families at the Holiday Inn in Amsterdam, Grunberg chose the Maud and Nick van der Poel family, who took him to the Greek island of Lefkas with them. NRC Handelsblad covered the story.
Visual artist Wendela Hubrecht photographed the audition, Arnon Grunberg's holiday and the holidays of families who went on holiday without Grunberg. These families also received a disposable camera to take their own photos. A selection of the photos, texts and a film are on view in the exhibition. The material raises many questions, such as why would a family want to be observed and written about by Grunberg? Grunberg observed the families but was also observed himself. What is a family? What is private? Where are the boundaries set between the two parties?
Arnon Grunberg
Arnon Grunberg (NL, 1971) is a celebrated novelist who resides in New York. In recent years he has become known as a writer of reportages from all over the world and on widely divergent subjects. He also is a columnist for publications such as de Volkskrant, Vrij Nederland and VPRO Gids.
Wendela Hubrecht
Wendela Hubrecht (1976) graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and earned a Master's Degree in Art History from Leiden University.
The book 'Les vacances de Monsieur Grunberg' will be published by Ludion Publishers concurrently with the exhibition.
Open daily from 10am to 6pm, Thurs/Fri 10am to 9pm. Ticket: € 8,00.