Switzerland
Virginie Rebetez Exhumes Her Grandparents and Turns the Act Into Art at Bienne's Photoforum
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.