curated by Virág Szentkirályi and Jero van Nieuwkoop
With this exhibition, we invite you to explore artistic practices that embrace non-institutionalised ways of knowing. They focus on narratives that have been silenced, abandoned or suppressed, with the aim of healing traumas from the past that continue to shape our present.
With a particular focus on women’s perspectives, the works reflect on how we imagine and negotiate living together in increasingly polarised and fragmented (patriarchal) societies.
Language in this context becomes more than a means of communication; it is a powerful force that shapes the social and cultural structures of our world and influences our perception of self and the collective past. But what happens when we do not speak the same language in a shared space or use different social frameworks? This exhibition questions how language – whether spoken, remembered or forgotten – can either bring us closer or further divide us. How do artists deal with the ambiguous power of language, between division and union?
The exhibition examines how personal and collective memories are preserved, passed on or erased. The artistic works channel oral traditions, ancestral knowledge and rituals and reconstruct narratives that are often discarded or marginalised by institutional memory. These ‘Memory Landscapes’ invite reflection on how traumas/events of the past can be revisited and possibly overcome through shared memories of rituals, storytelling and other forms of knowledge exchange.
Oral, or spoken, words as non-written forms of preserving history are explored as important tools for cultural survival and resilience. These artists reflect on how oral traditions, particularly those rooted in matriarchal or indigenous societies, resist the erasure of dominant patriarchal or colonial narratives.
As we move through the exhibition space, we seek to examine nationalism through the lens of both critique and deconstruction. The artists examine the role of nationalism in shaping identities, often from an exclusionary or ethnocentric perspective, while questioning its potential for solidarity. In a world struggling with increasingly rigid national borders and marginalising identities, the works point to shared symbols and elements from different cultural landscapes and the commonality that comes with them. The artworks invite viewers to reflect on how nationalism can be transformed and reinvented in a way that promotes friendship and solidarity rather than division.
Friendship and solidarity are key elements of the exhibition and reflect the practices of women artists seeking ways to navigate and resist polarisation. The works emphasise the sharing of spaces, stories and knowledge as a means of bridging divides and finding common ground in our experiences. As Silvia Federici writes, ‘women are the main social force standing in the way of the full commercialisation of nature.’ This sentiment is echoed in the exhibition’s reflection on the importance of non-capitalist and non-exploitative ways of living, of resisting through care, community and the land.
Ultimately, this exhibition is a call to rethink how we live together. It shifts the focus away from competition, division and conflict and invites visitors to discover solidarity, friendship and shared stories as ways to make amends. It challenges us to rethink the structures that divide us and embrace those that promote unity and shared care. To create spaces of shared humanity where we come together not through sameness but through solidarity despite our differences.
With the kind support of: Mondriaan Fonds, Royal Embassy of the Netherlands and the Cultural Office of the City of Kassel