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Switzerland
Virginie Rebetez Exhumes Her Grandparents and Turns the Act Into Art at Bienne's Photoforum
Herz — Switzerland Desk · · 30s summary · 2 min read
The essentials
Swiss photographer Virginie Rebetez presents 'The Encounter' at Photoforum Pasquart, a contemporary art center in Bienne. The artwork emerged from the exhumation of her grandparents, René and Simone Rebetez, in Courrendlin, in the Jura region of Switzerland. In 2025, their cemetery plot concessions—temporary rights to occupy a burial site—expired, making the leveling of their graves imminent. Rebetez proposed involving her family in the exhumation process and transforming it into an artwork. The exhibition also features her 2020 photographic series documenting the suicide of her great-uncle.
- Rebetez exhibits 'The Encounter,' born from the exhumation of her grandparents in Courrendlin
- Her grandparents' cemetery plot concessions in Courrendlin expired in 2025
- Grave leveling erases all visible links between the deceased and the living in Swiss cemeteries
- The exhibition also features Rebetez's 2020 work on her great-uncle's suicide
What We Know
According to Le Temps, Swiss photographer Virginie Rebetez presents 'The Encounter' at Photoforum Pasquart, a cultural center in Bienne dedicated to contemporary photography. The artwork resulted from the exhumation of her grandparents, René and Simone Rebetez.
In 2025, Rebetez learned that the cemetery plot concessions of her grandparents in Courrendlin (Jura) had expired. A cemetery plot concession is a right granted to a family to occupy a burial site in a cemetery for a fixed period. Without renewal, the municipality may proceed with grave leveling.
Rebetez proposed involving her family in the exhumation of the bodies and making it the centerpiece of a new artistic work.
The exhibition also presents 'You Will Find My Body at the Little Harbor' (2020), a photographic series documenting the suicide of her great-uncle.
Context
Virginie Rebetez has worked for nearly twenty years on themes of death and the memory of the deceased. The artwork 'You Will Find My Body at the Little Harbor' (2020), documenting her great-uncle's suicide, exemplifies this same personal and documentary approach.
In Swiss cemeteries, grave leveling occurs after a plot concession expires. Funeral monuments are removed and the ground is returned to its natural state, erasing any visible trace linking the deceased to the living.
Timeline
- Around 2006Virginie Rebetez begins her artistic practice focused on death and the memory of the deceased.
- 2020Creation of 'You Will Find My Body at the Little Harbor,' a photographic series documenting her great-uncle's suicide.
- 2025Rebetez learns of the expiration of her grandparents' cemetery plot concessions in Courrendlin (Jura) and proposes involving her family in the exhumation, which becomes 'The Encounter.'
- 2025–2026Presentation of 'The Encounter' and 'You Will Find My Body at the Little Harbor' at Photoforum Pasquart in Bienne.
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