See the Pop Culture Icon's More Human Side at the Intimate Audrey Exhibit in Manila

(SPOT.ph) Audrey Hepburn is a name everyone knows. Pop culture today, and media in general, would not be the same had the actress, dancer, philanthropist, and all around icon not existed. Yet for all the movies, pictures, songs, books, and more that have come out starring her and are about her and her impact, it can't be denied that Audrey Hepburn was human—as the Intimate Audrey exhibit shows. This stunning collection of the life and times of one of Hollywood's most brilliant stars is making its first Asian stop in Manila at The Museum in S'Maison, Conrad Manila.

Also read: The Audrey Hepburn Exhibit Is Having Its First Asian Stop in Manila

Intimate Audrey, as brought to life by her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer

The lady in a black dress. This is how most people today know her. But to Sean Hepburn Ferrer, she was "Mutti". Born to Audrey Hepburn and actor Mel Ferrer in 1960, he called his mother by this Swiss term of endearment that meant "little mother"; fittingly so for the famously petite star. "All my friends call her the Mutti also," Ferrer shares with us in a quick chat outside the exhibit's doors at S'Maison on opening day, August 1. The producer—who stands much taller than his mother, a height he got from his father—had been in Manila for about a month by then. "Working 20-hour days" to get the exhibit together in time, though thankfully able to have visited some restaurants in Makati; "It's beautiful over there but you know when you're doing this, it's like production, you're being serious about it."

Intimate Audrey started as a tribute on what would have been his mother's 90th birthday on May 4, 2019; the exhibit was open for four months in her birthplace of Brussels, Belgium. The next year, they moved to Amsterdam and stayed till right before the pandemic. "It was sort of sad for a while," shares Ferrer, but it was during that run in Amsterdam that creative entrepreneur Carmina Sanchez-Jacob had visited—she called them up and said that she'd really like to bring the exhibit to our shores. It may have taken global lockdowns and several years but "We're really here because of the passion of one Filipino woman," he says.

"It took about six months to build," Ferrer shares of the exhibit. Together with his architect of about 30 years, "Giovanni and I, sort of like two writers, we did the cards on the wall and got all the things that we thought would fit and then he went to work and created sort of the script, if you may," all to create an exhbit that shone the light on Audrey Hepburn like never before. Many exhibits have been held on Audrey Hepburn, after all, and Ferrer himself has worked on others, specifically one that ran for many years on her impact on fashion. Yet "After years of doing that one and traveling into Japan and to Australia and to many places, I decided that really, Audrey Hepburn was not found in things."

"Everything starts in the mind and so I think this is by far the best and the most intimate, which is why I called it that."

What this exhibit is now is a peek into the life and works of Audrey, and why she became what she was, perhaps even is. Hundreds of professional and personal photographs capturing moments of the star, her family, her friends, her home, her work, and more adorn the different sections of the exhibit. Then there are her awards, both as an actor and a humanitarian, as well as mementos from her life including her wedding dress when she married Ferrer, their wedding rings, and even the Vespa seen in Roman Holiday, one of the first movies that launched her to stardom. There are also little pockets of space in the rooms that have seats and a projection of her movies, interviews, and even home videos with Ferrer as a child.

"When she passed away she had collected thousands of photographs and preserved them," says Ferrer, who explains that the items in the exhibit are now his. "She obviously understood the value of photography because she's probably one of the most photographed people of the 20th Century. These are all beautiful original prints from the era, so there's no digital in there and I think you can feel it."

The exhibit moves you across time, starting with her childhood to her years working with UNICEF, and ends with a section featuring a collection of works by Filipino designers as inspired by some of Audrey Hepburn's most memorable looks.

Intimate Audrey rings true to its name. A walk through the rooms gives you a clearer look into the life and purpose of one of recent history's most stars, highlighting what she meant to both popular culture and to those near and dear.

"I always say you don't choose your parents, your parents don't choose their kids and sometimes it doesn't work out," says Ferrer of his mother. You can sense in the many pictures and items a fuller, more human portrait of this 20th Century icon. "We were lucky; Apart from loving each other, we also liked each other. I made her laugh and had a wonderful time together."

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Take a look at the Intimate Audrey exhibit

Photos by Majoy Siason

Intimate Audrey runs from August 1 to October 29 at The Museum at S'Maison, 1300 Coral Way, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay. Tickets, which are priced at P850, are available through SM Tickets (https://smtickets.com/events/view/12287). For more information, visit Intimate Audrey Manila's Instagram account.