Charlotte Gainsbourg's Debut Photo Exhibition Captures Serge Gainsbourg's Paris Home
Charlotte Gainsbourg's debut photography exhibition, '5 Bis,' presents intimate images of her father Serge Gainsbourg's preserved Parisian home at 5 bis rue de Verneuil. The show runs at The Cloister Gallery during the Rencontres d'Arles festival until September 6, 2026, curated with Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello. Gainsbourg photographed the house in 2023 before it opened as the Maison Gainsbourg museum, documenting personal artifacts like Gitanes cigarettes, Repetto shoes, and her mother Jane Birkin's photo on a piano. She describes the process as 'stealing' memories before the public entered. The exhibition features around 30 images selected by Vaccarello, displayed on matt-black walls in a darkly carpeted single room. Gainsbourg, known as an actress and singer, discusses grief, public mourning, and letting go of the private space she kept as a 'mausoleum' for 30 years. The exhibition is organized with Saint Laurent and Maja Hoffmann.
Key facts
- Exhibition titled '5 Bis' runs at The Cloister Gallery, Rencontres d'Arles, until September 6, 2026.
- Charlotte Gainsbourg photographed her father Serge Gainsbourg's home at 5 bis rue de Verneuil, Paris, before it became a museum in 2023.
- The exhibition is curated with Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello.
- Gainsbourg used a Hasselblad camera to document objects such as Gitanes cigarettes, Repetto shoes, and a photo of Jane Birkin.
- She describes the act of photographing as 'stealing' memories before the public enters.
- The house was kept as a private mausoleum for 30 years after Serge Gainsbourg's death.
- Gainsbourg was 19 when her father died and moved into the house to recuperate.
- The exhibition is organized in partnership with Saint Laurent and Maja Hoffmann.
Entities
Artists
Institutions
- Maison Gainsbourg
- Saint Laurent
- Rencontres d'Arles
- The Cloister Gallery
- Another Magazine
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Arles
- 5 bis rue de Verneuil