Open Space Contemporary Art Museum (OSCAM) in Amsterdam South East, opening night
My opening speech at the exhibition, welcoming the public and talking about the project and its results
Marian Markelo, Winti priestess, consecrating the exhibition. Winti is a Surinamese philosophical and religious expression that originated during slavery
Gamelan ensemble Widosari played songs about tradition and renewal
Spoken word artist Tirsa With performed work on the subjects of identity, heritage, and post-colonialism: "Backside of the Moon", "Colonial Amnesia", and "Mi Anga Mi Pangi"
Some of the visitors during the exhibition's opening night
The sold-out opening had a total of one hundred visitors
Left: posing on the Casa Blanca stairs, in 1947 and in 2018. Right: family party at Jerusa's
Left: buildings in Stafdorp. Right: the mineworkers' union building, now a church
Overview of part of the exhibition
Left: some of the pieces from the Double Heritage collection. Right: some of the pieces created during the workshops in Amsterdam South East
Left to right: Casa Blanca’s billiards table (Gideon Plein) | a bed in one of the Stafdorp houses (Robbert Booi) | the swimming pool (Linio Kastiel) | Casa Blanca (Robbert Booi) | David tests the kitchen telephone (Gideon Plein) | nature takes over the abandoned buildings (David Booi)
Left: Jerusa: ‘This is kawai. It grows on trees. Once it’s picked, it’s dried and fashioned into a piece of craft, which we then dance with'. Right: Basta: ‘This game is called Fevi ston, and people have been playing it since the old days. You look for five small stones, throw them up in the air, and let them fall on the ground. Then, you throw one back up and pick one off the ground before catching the first one. Then, you throw those two, pick up a third off the ground and catch the first two. You throw three stones, grab a fourth, and so on. You keep going until you need to catch five rocks.’
Clockwise from the top: 1) In 1984, Ronnie Brunswijk robbed the Bank of Suriname in Moengo, in an attempt to raise funds for a coup he was planning against Desi Bouterse. Brunswijk was locked up in Fort Zeelandia, but managed to escape. 2) "Brunswijk blew up this bridge to stop Bouterse’s forces, during the Interior War. Now there’s a new bridge." 3) "You asked me to photograph something I have, that my parents don’t. That’s my diploma, from when I finished school." Education was not as much a given for the previous generation as it was for Jerusa’s. The interior war sometimes made going to school impossible for their parents
A picture made by Linio of his friends, taken at Moengo's central square
Double Heritage project description
Double Heritage exhibition description