Based on an original idea by The Eyes

It all begins with a shocking statement: “A young girl must be raised with the constant thought that she will one day be a man’s companion.” This precept, taken from the book What a Woman is Worth published in 1888 by Éline Roch, lays the foundation for a treatise on education aimed at shaping model wives, virtuous mothers, and guardians of the home.

Nearly a century and a half later, the artistic duo Elsa & Johanna take hold of these outdated injunctions and offer a contemporary reinterpretation. Inspired by this rigid manual, they created the series The Twelve Hours of Day and Night, a set of black-and-white portraits shot on film. Twenty-four female figures, all portrayed by the artists themselves, mark the 24 hours of an imaginary day.

This work finds a unique resonance at the Château de Haroué, whose architecture symbolizes the passage of time: 365 windows for the days of the year, 52 chimneys for the weeks, 12 towers for the months, and 4 bridges for the seasons. In this setting, rich with meaning, Elsa & Johanna’s 24 hour-portraits form a new visual calendar, where each woman – from Janice in the billiard room at 10 p.m. to Élodie in the kitchen at 6 a.m. – embodies a moment and an atmosphere.

Masters of their own image, the two artists explore the power of self-portraiture and staging to question the role of women and the construction of identity. Through transformations, costumes, and props, they successively become playful, dreamy, serious, seductive… A diverse array of female figures that starkly contrasts with the singular, normative ideal imposed by Éline Roch’s text.

The atmosphere of their photos – always set in the intimacy of enclosed spaces – oscillates between domestic solitude and assertive freedom. These images, both silent and eloquent, allow the viewer to imagine the stories of these women frozen in time.