I am fascinated by the question: what is time? And how can it be that my family history from long ago has found its way through time and space into my life (as the next generation)? And how it has influenced my life? I want to look with an open persepctive at time. It is an ambiguous time, an extra-ordinary time, when what was no longer is, and I can’t reach it. It is fleeting, beyond my grasp. I seek to discover this time by translating it to a space, that still lies fallow at my feet. I enter the space cautiously and encounter all nature of things. It is a place of discovery, full of stories and secrets, but also of beauty. The stories, told through memories, are full of holes. The space feels sometimes empty, from suppressed and lost memories. And sometimes overwhelming by the feelings and emotions it offers.
My family story has inspired this quest. It plays out during WWII in the former Dutch East Indies, where my grandmother and her young children – my mother and her her brother and sister – were held prisoners in a Japanese internment camp. My grandfather (Klaas) went missing (while resisting the Japanese army) and was never found.
Through an experimental multi-media presentation, I invite you to explore the space depicted between my family’s story and my life today. Perhaps we all have stories from our histories and lives yet to be discovered. The installation is spatial, it stimulates multiple senses (sight, sound, feeling) and has a mysterious quality through which you can somewhat lose yourself. The exhibition is at Loods 6 in Amsterdam, from May 30th till June 1st.