Octobre 61

Inspired by the personal story of her grandparents’ arrival from Algeria in 1961, Johanna Tordjman explores tales of exile and settlement through a series of original paintings. These works, all created from family archival documents, highlight the journeys of families from diverse backgrounds: Senegal, Cameroon, Peru, Poland, Italy, and many more.

Octobre 61 continues the narrative of 25h01, a project presented in 2021 that examined exile through the symbolic objects migrants carried with them on their journeys. The title 25h01 referenced the duration of the boat trip undertaken by the artist’s grandparents, from Bône to Marseille, as they left their homeland.

With Octobre 61, Tordjman extends this intimate and universal approach by focusing on human trajectories that resonate across generations and continents. Each painting captures a moment of life, a memory, an instance of resilience and hope, offering a poignant and personal perspective on the daily experiences and shared moments of migrant communities.

The exhibition will also feature around thirty portraits inspired by identity photographs taken from the first official documents of migrants upon their arrival in France. Painted in oil on carved wood, these portraits incorporate imprints of official stamps, symbolizing the administrative marks of their journeys.

This exhibition seeks to celebrate the cultural richness and diversity that make up our society today.