The grand exhibition of French photographer Tomas van Houtryve, “Thirty-Six Views of Notre Dame,” was held on Thursday evening at the Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), within the framework of the 7th Sarajevo Fest.
The attendees were addressed by Haris Pasovic, director of East West Center Sarajevo; Ajla Eljsani-Arnautalija, project manager of The VII Foundation; Tomas van Houtryve, author of the exhibition; Siniša Sesum, head of the Sarajevo office of the Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe of UNESCO BiH; and the Ambassador of France to BiH, Francois Delmas, who also opened the exhibition.
Van Houtryve recorded the entire process of the reconstruction of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after the great fire of 2019, when it was severely damaged. He found inspiration in the famous series of woodcuts – the masterpiece of the Japanese artist of the 18th century, Katsushika Hokusai – “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.”
From the attic window with a view of the cathedral to the top of the crane above the construction site, van Houtryve captured key moments of the reconstruction. He used modern technologies, such as drones, but also historical methods – among them a wooden camera from the 19th century – presenting this symbol of Paris through a combination of old and new visual language.
Notre Dame is not just a church. For more than eight centuries, it has been the center of French life – a place of coronations, revolutions, wars, and a destination for millions of visitors from all over the world. It has been devastated, looted, restored, and redefined. This exhibition provides an opportunity to ask ourselves what places like Notre Dame mean to us, how they connect generations, and why they are worth preserving – not only the stone and glass, but also the stories we continue to pass on.
This year’s 7th Sarajevo Fest lasted from September 5th to 19th, and its motto was “Peace.” Within the framework of the festival, youth forums, plays, panel discussions, and exhibitions were organized.
A special honor is the fact that a part of the program is realized in cooperation with the Republic of France, within the project “European Dialogues.” East West Center Sarajevo also achieves successful cooperation with the Goethe-Institut in BiH, the VII Foundation, and UNESCO BiH.
