Documentary photography, humanist perspective, raw immersion — the Matière terrestre exhibition at the Centre photographique Rouen Normandie showcases the powerful, silent work of Françoise Huguier. Until September 27, 2025, experience a rare and moving journey through homes around the globe.
A unique gaze into intimate spaces worldwide
What can a messy kitchen, a faded curtain, or an outdated sink reveal? For Françoise Huguier, these are silent witnesses of society — fragments of family life, solitude, routine, and resilience. Far from the spectacular, she embraces the real, the ordinary, the lived.
With her signature style, the French documentary photographer guides us through Saint Petersburg, the Siberian tundra, and the urban interiors of Southeast Asia. Never voyeuristic, never staged — just a quiet and powerful presence.
Three landmark photo series, one central theme: the human experience
In Kommunalka, Huguier captures the soul of Soviet communal housing in Russia. The result is raw and intimate. In On the Road to Bering, she travels across Siberia aboard an icebreaker, documenting the daily lives of Indigenous peoples with stark honesty. Her Asian series, shot in Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur, unveils the sanitized modernity of middle-class homes — plastic icons, sterile lighting, commercial residue.
Throughout her work, the color red reappears — in curtains, carpets, dresses, or even walrus entrails. It becomes a visual thread, symbolizing life, struggle, and physical presence.
A must-see exhibition in Rouen, France
Hosted at the Centre photographique Rouen Normandie, Matière terrestre is among the most striking photography exhibitions of 2025. Rather than showing events, it documents lives. It doesn’t provoke, but rather awakens.
📅 May 24 – September 27, 2025
📍 Centre photographique Rouen Normandie
🎟️ Free admission