With the “The way we were” project Gerda Van Damme returns to the past, where the eye of the camera has preserved the instant moment. What else have we kept from our past, besides some pictures and objects? “The way we were” is a huge archiving project about lost times, to be seen in conjunction with "The Way We Were - The Miniature Series". In her archives she is always looking for the stories, the “drama” and the human relationships and that are hidden. Keeping the secrets intact, her paintings suggest and leave open the unknown. They invite for a new reading of what the photographer has captured, intentionally or by accident. This new reading is made concrete by the re-framing of the images into new scenes.