FEMINITIES IN NURSING HOMES

The nursing home La Colline de la Soie of the ACPPA Group in the heart of the Croix-Rousse neighborhood brings together feminine voices, often forgotten, of diverse origins and beliefs, who come to live in a place full of stories. Typically, poorly known in our society, nursing homes are nonetheless places of notorious hospitality for the elderly, offering high-quality care and a certain comfort of life. When no one recognizes you or sees you, how does feminity express itself in this mixed setting ? How does women feel their feminity when physical or mental dependency increases ?

Often, our society refuses to acknowledge this other body, this body in becoming. It is essential to showcase the richness of all its traces, left by time, on the skin and in the soul, as waters carve their paths. Before the shooting, Vanessa Ray and Sarah Perrret Vignau conducted workshops in clowning and dance with the residents, helping them to release their emotions and find better keys to express themselves for Vinent Flouret’s photographic lens.

Vincent Flouret’s photographs will serve as a medium for revealing their feminity, reminding us that, at any stage of life, being a woman does not fit a single definition and can take on multiple forms. The texts co-written with the residents and the author Juliette Journeaux blends life stories, rituals, anecdotes, and poems from 19th and 20th century feminists. The recorded sound of their voices highlight and elevates the diversity of feminity, giving voice to men and women alike, bridging the cap between genders. In the exhibition, these diffused voices intertwine, blending into a whisper or an accelerated tone, symbolizing the rhythms of the Rhône and the Saône rivers.