The Anonymous Project by Lee Shulman

The first exhibition, The House, presented by The Anonymous Project and created by Lee Shulman, became one of the highlights of the Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles (2019). Designed as a fully immersive experience, this exhibition goes beyond merely displaying images by recreating the atmosphere of the 1950s. In an era when family photography was an intimate and discreet act, it invites visitors to explore a space where every object, every light, and every image interact to bring memories and everyday gestures to life.

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For the first time since its presentation in Arles, The House is being shown at Hangar, marking the first exhibition of The Anonymous Project on Belgian territory. In here, photographs are not simply hung on the walls but are integrated into the space itself, each image finding its place in a domestic setting: kitchen, living room, bedroom.

The intention is to create a living environment where the viewer feels at home, in a familiar place marked by the passage of time and memory, with furniture, objects, and lighting carefully selected. The experience goes beyond observation, allowing visitors to feel the era and the lives hidden behind these images.

The photographs, often simple, take on a new dimension here: they become windows into moments of life that, though once close, now seem distant, offering a sensory experience and an invitation to dive into the past and grasp the significance of each moment however mundane it may have been to those who lived it.

By recreating this house and immersing visitors in this intimate universe, The House becomes a place where the past takes shape, where one can touch, feel, and understand the memory embedded in each image. It is a tribute to ordinary lives, stolen moments, and the beauty of memories, reminding us that these fleeting, everyday instances are the very fabric of our existence.