Elysée Lausanne Dossier de presse

Nicolas Savary. Conquistador In the footsteps of Louis de Boccard, a Swiss explorer in the new world (1889-1956)From January 31 to May 6, 2018

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Nicolas Savary. Conquistador In the footsteps of Louis de Boccard, a Swiss explorer in the new world (1889-1956)From January 31 to May 6, 2018

The project

Conquistador is a photographic project built on the very dense archive of the life of Louis de Boccard (1866-1956), a Swiss man of the lower nobility of Fribourg, exiled in Argentina in the late 1880s and deceased in Paraguay in 1956. Nicolas Savary, a Lausanne photographer, came in possession of this archive by chance, first in Switzerland, then in Paraguay, as part of research related to an art residency in South America that he attended in 2014. The archive discovered and organized within the framework of this project is extremely rich and, above all, unprecedented. It consists of photographic albums, correspondence, historical documents, press clippings and diaries. The photographs are the work, on the one hand, of Louis de Boccard himself, but also other photographers living on the Argentine territory at the same period, like Samuel Rimathé.

However, Savary does not propose a historical project but, instead, a contemporary approach with reference to an archive. Examination of the documents reveals that certain themes are linked to contemporary issues, for example, ecology and the tourist industry, questions of urban development, or the situation of indigenous peoples. In the biography of Louis de Boccard, there are a number of true or invented anecdotes, including stories about his integration into the Museum of Natural Sciences of La Plata, the paternity of Juan Perón, the secret of the drama of Mayerling (suicide or murder of Rudolph of Austria and his wife), or the disappearance of Prince John of Habsburg at sea. On a virgin land with a national narrative to be written, this romantic aspect, quite frequent in Argentinian History, is also at the heart of this project.

The exhibition

Co-produced by the Musée de l’Elysée and the Musée gruérien in Bulle, this two-part exhibition will first be presented in Lausanne where it will feature contemporary photographs taken by the artist in 2014 and 2015 in Argentina, Switzerland and Paraguay. It will also include reprints and facsimiles of archive images and/or certain original documents. The scenography takes the form of a narrative collage, with different types of images mounted in specific formats (frames, laminations, wallpapers, projections, etc.). The second part, more focused on the archival aspect, will be presented from January 27 to April 28, 2019, at the Musée gruérien in Bulle, owner of the collection Louis de Boccard.

Map-letter, Collection Louis de Boccard, Musée gruérien, Bulle

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Nicolas Savary’s biographyBorn in Switzerland in 1971, Nicolas is a photographer and a graduate artist in Visual Arts from the Cantonal School of Art of Lausanne (ECAL). His photographic approach focuses on the relationship between the human figure, the built space or the landscape as consideration on historical, social or political issues. His work has been rewarded by the Federal Design Award and the Manor Cultural Award. It has been exhibited, among others, at the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, at Photoforum PasquArt in Bienne, at the Geneva Photography Center or at the Coalmine Gallery in Winterthur. He has taught for more than 10 years in the Department of Architecture of the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and is currently Senior Master of Higher Education in the photography department of the Vevey Professional Education Center. Nicolas Savary is currently Senior Master of the Advanced Training in Photography at the professional education center (CEPV). He is also a founding member of the standard/deluxe art space in Lausanne and a member of the Photoforum PasquArt board of directors in Bienne.

Exhibition catalogueThe book CONQUISTADOR is published by the Hispano-Mexican house RM-Verlag. It brings together a large body of contemporary photographs, which are directly related to images or reproductions of documents, but also to texts. This project was built in parallel with a scientific research conducted in Argentina by Mariana Giordano, specialist in Visual Anthropology.

173 x 227 mm / 324 pages1500 copiesIn French or English version

CuratorsTatyana Franck, director, Musée de l’Elysée, assisted by Emilie Delcambre Hirsch, assistant in the Exhibitions Department Christophe Mauron, curator, Musée gruérien Nicolas Savary, photographer

An exhibition coproduced by Musée de l’Elysée and Musée gruérien, owner of the Collection Louis de Boccard.

Press conference: Tuesday, January 30 at 10am Opening: Tuesday, January 30 at 6pm

Nicolas Savary, Cactus Domesticus, La Boca, Buenos Aires, 2014 © Nicolas Savary

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Montt & Fialho Expedition Album, Collection Louis de Boccard, Musée gruérien, Bulle Large Album, Collection Louis de Boccard, Musée gruérien, Bulle

Nicolas Savary, Polo, Areguá, 2014 © Nicolas Savary

Nicolas Savary, Raptor, Museum of Natural Sciences, La Plata, 2014 © Nicolas Savary

Nicolas Savary, Portal del Sol, Asuncion, 2014 © Nicolas Savary

Nicolas Savary, Sensations, Iguazú Falls, 2014 © Nicolas Savary

Media ContactJulie Maillard

+41 21 316 99 27julie.maillard@vd.ch

The images reproduced in the press kit and below areavailable for the press. Their use is exclusively limited to thepromotion of the exhibition Nicolas Savary. Conquistador and cannot be reformatted or modified. Please use the captions as they are indicated.

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Media ContactJulie Maillard

+41 21 316 99 27julie.maillard@vd.ch

The images reproduced in the press kit and below areavailable for the press. Their use is exclusively limited to thepromotion of the exhibition Nicolas Savary. Conquistador and cannot be reformatted or modified. Please use the captions as they are indicated.

Nicolas Savary, The Power of Ideas, Puerto Madero Buenos Aires, 2014 © Nicolas Savary

Nicolas Savary, Patio, Areguá, 2014 © Nicolas Savary

Nicolas Savary, Albatross, Museum of Natural Sciences, La Plata, 2014 © Nicolas Savary

Iguazú Expedition Album, Collection Louis de Boccard, Musée gruérien, Bulle

Large Album, Collection Louis de Boccard, Musée gruérien, Bulle

Album, Collection Louis de Boccard, Musée gruérien, Bulle

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The Musée de l’Elysée thanks its valued partners for their support in 2018

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Practical information

Press contactJulie Maillard +41 (0)21 316 99 27julie.maillard@vd.ch

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