Hangar Gallery in Brussels is presenting "MAURICE, Tristesse et rigolade" by Belgian photographer Charlotte Abramow, an intimate and immersive exhibition that tells the story of a man's battle with illness and his rebirth through his daughter's love. This visual and poetic narrative serves as an eternal tribute from the Belgian photographer to her father, Maurice, blending documentary storytelling with surrealist elements.
The exhibition marks the first time this deeply personal work takes the form of an immersive display at Hangar Gallery. Maurice was the very first model that Charlotte photographed in a studio setting. At just 17 years old, she already sensed that photography would guide her life, never imagining that her father would become the heart of her first book just a few years later.
"MAURICE, Tristesse et rigolade" was published in 2018 with support from 777 contributors, but tragically came to life after Maurice's death, meaning he never saw its publication. Seven years later, Charlotte Abramow revisits this project with renewed strength and perspective. Through this exhibition, she revives the memory of an extraordinary man: a doctor, a professor, a Jewish child hidden during the war, but above all, a father full of tenderness, spirit, and whimsy.
Drawing from family archives, the exhibition unfolds a profoundly human narrative that oscillates between laughter and emotion. The question arises: can we say that Maurice's life ended in triumph? If love is the measure, then certainly, yes. Faced with illness and the aftermath of post-anoxic coma, Charlotte transformed the ordeal into creation. Together, father and daughter invented a new language consisting of gestures, glances, and silent complicity.
Maurice's gaze, captured by the photographer, becomes both mirror and messenger. He serves as the muse while she embodies the artist. Together, they weave an intimate, enchanting, and luminous tale. "MAURICE, Tristesse et rigolade" tells the story of an unbreakable bond, a love that refuses to be forgotten, representing both transmission and artistic revelation.
Did Maurice know that in those suspended moments between laughter and tears, his daughter was taking her first steps as an artist? By lending himself to her lens, he bequeathed her a treasure: the ability to discover herself, create, and build a deeply personal body of work.
Charlotte Abramow was born in Belgium in 1993. At 16, during an internship at Les Rencontres d'Arles in France, she met Paolo Roversi, the Italian fashion photographer and portraitist born in 1947. The following year, he wrote an article about her images titled "La fragilité et l'âme d'une guerrière" (The Fragility and Soul of a Warrior), published in Polka Magazine in 2011.
In 2013, at age 19, the Belgian photographer moved to Paris to study at Gobelins, L'École de l'Image. Since 2014, her work has primarily explored relationships with the body, women, and life stages, staging elements absurdly in a world tinged with surrealism. At 24, Charlotte took charge of the visual direction for the "BROL" project by Belgian breakthrough singer Angèle, creating all the photographs for the project.
This artistic collaboration marked Charlotte's first steps as a director with "La Loi de Murphy" and "Je Veux Tes Yeux." She subsequently directed the music video "Balance ton Quoi" featuring Angèle and Pierre Niney. In autumn 2018, her first book "MAURICE, Tristesse et rigolade" about her father's illness was published by Éditions Fisheye, funded by 777 contributors on Kickstarter in 2016.
The exhibition "Charlotte Abramow: MAURICE, Tristesse et rigolade" runs from September 19 through December 21, 2025, at Hangar Gallery in Brussels, located at Place du Châtelain 18, 1050 Brussels. More information is available at http://www.hangar.art.
