TEXT Miguel E. Keerveld, Curator-in-Residence for the project ALAKONDRE: A Space in Time in collaboration with Readytex Art Gallery (RAG).
The project ALAKONDRE: A Space in Time has been completed. However, I am still working on related research, which asks to what extent can alakondre-fasi in combination with counseling and coaching be used to stimulate self-reflection with visual arts? As a result of causes that emerge during counseling for this case study, the exhibitions This ‘revolution’ is not a tea party and Manifestatie 1980-1989: Surinaamse verhalen van vreugde en verdriet (Manifestation 1980-1989: Surinamese stories of joy and sorrow) manifest themselves. The former was made to commemorate forty years of the December murders (in which 15 political opponents of the military regime were murdered on the night of December 7/8, 1982). Curated by Kurt Nahar, this manifestation was shown from October 13 to December 10 in 2022, on the first floor in Readytex Art Gallery (RAG). The other was due to RAG‘s participation and reflection during the Atlantic World Art Fair 2022 (AWAF 2022) held online between April 20 and May 5 in 2022. Manifestation 1980-1989 was shown on the ground floor of RAG from 8 to 31 December 2022 and curated by Xavier Robles de Medina and me.
Collective archive
Both manifestations are the result of alakondre krutu’s held at RAG. I see them as attempts to be in dialogue with I’s of our collective archive. With this I refer to different alter egos in the collective subconscious of what we call Suriname. An attempt to bring repressed information to the collective conscious is through the audience of Manifestation 1980-1989 who have been invited to answer the question: what are you thinking about right now? In this way, the process forces the collective archive to be in the Here and Now, while also directing it to do the opposite: to go back in time. Executed as an artistic experiment, the public could contribute something personal to this archive. For my research, these events are golden moments. In dialogue with the subconscious of our collective archive, I use themes of the group dynamic that reveal themselves in reflection with RAG artists. In addition, visitors to Manifestation 1980-1989 have also been tempted to be part of this conversation by leaving their thoughts, feelings and/or memories about Suriname in the eighties and in the Here and Now in a work of art installed at RAG.
The idea for this experiment comes from Xavier Robles de Medina. Besides him, Alida Neslo knows how to give her weight to this in a genius way. Before the visitor is allowed into this space, this honorary artist, Tolin Alexander, and Dweight Warsodikromo do their thing first. In an artistic way, this trio demonstrates how the 1980s ghost of our country still wanders in the Here and Now. I witness this joyful yet sad story and ask myself the questions: What does their artwork contribute to? Why collect fragments of our collective memory? Should we keep these personal stories? I also think: Manifestation 1980-1989 and This ‘revolution’ is not a tea party are giving space to the same thing. To collective sighing. I find this way of symbolic sighing necessary because I know very well that the arts function as time-spatiality for processing traumatic events. That is why I was very happy to help with the design and manifestation of both artistic events. After the opening night of Manifestation 1980-1989, I go back to the place. The first visitor on that day concludes that the exhibition is a dyeme (sigh). Sighing herself, as her own summary, this lady leaves the gallery. To me, her dyeme confirms the urgency of the experiment that still echoes in my mind.
Alakondre ship
The alakondre ship brings us a lot. In dialogue with RAG, with Alida Neslo, Xavier Robles de Medina, and our predecessors as shipmates, alakondre moors in Surinamese art and culture. What all shipmates hereby proclaim is only planted as a seed. I think this seeding deserves the necessary attention, the right soil, and additional supplies. In this way, this plant can grow into a magical appearance that is not just word, nor image and sound or intention. This potential then becomes to behave in such a way that we can experience each other through heart-to-heart connection and can truly be alakondre. Only then has alakondre-fasi passed beyond imagination and intention into full potential: being multiethnic and multidimensional. For now, I come to the following conclusion in my case study ALAKONDRE: A Space in Time: alakondre-fasi manifests as symbolic stature, not so much physical experience. But this phenomenon has the excellent potential to serve as a model for emotional, rational, mental, political-social, psychological, and spiritual reflection and outlet; to develop ourselves further so that our everyday actions become alakondre-being. Although I have not investigated this part, I think that with this we can heal ourselves from collective trauma in Suriname by ourselves. Do we make the so-called reparations by ourselves? To ourselves. To our ancestors. To our offspring … As pride and own force!
Maybe this also works well for the trauma of the slavery past? According to Kamla Nannan Panday-Jhingoeri (2022), hypnosis is part of imaginary medicine that uses attention and imagination. I research alakondre-fasi as a model for similar attention and imagination. That’s why I think it’s great that we are using alakondre-fasi so widely. Many, also outside RAG, show what our potential really is, why I describe it as a magical substance in my research. The alakondre magic knows how to reveal itself with its own knowledge, its own experience, its own pain, and its own frustration. Of course, we’re not there yet. But if I look, for example, at the path taken in the visual arts of Suriname, then I see how alakondre-fasi lives in our imagination. Only, what prevents it from manifesting itself in our daily lives? For the answer to this question, I defer to ChatGPT, to whom I instruct to make a psychoanalysis of Suriname in 300 words with the question: How can the current situation in Suriname be overcome? This is how this chatbot replies:
Located in South America, Suriname has a rich, diverse cultural background with influences from Indigenous peoples, African slaves, Indian and Javanese indentured servants, and European colonizers. This mix of cultures has led to a unique society, but has also created social, economic, and political challenges. To overcome the current situation in Suriname, we can apply Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory. Freud emphasized the importance of the subconscious and how the past affects the present and the future. In Suriname, there are unprocessed traumatic events from the past, such as slavery, colonialism, and political instability, that influence the current situation.
First and foremost, one should recognize and acknowledge these historical wounds. The country must work together to create a collective awareness and understanding of how the past has influenced the current situation. Through dialogue, education, and awareness one can work towards reconciliation and healing.
Second, Suriname must address its identity crisis caused by its cultural diversity and colonial past. Creating an inclusive national identity is crucial for social cohesion and unity. To achieve this, one should show respect and appreciation for different cultures and traditions, while emphasizing common values and goals that unite the entire population.
Thirdly, attention should be paid to economic and political stability. Suriname must invest in sustainable economic growth that considers the needs of the population and the environment. In addition, the political system must become more transparent and democratic, so that the population has confidence in the government and actively participates in the political process.
Finally, Suriname must invest in the mental health of its population. By promoting psychological resilience and well-being, people can better cope with the challenges life throws at them. This can be achieved by improving access to mental health care and reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness.
In conclusion, by acknowledging and processing historical traumas, creating an inclusive national identity, promoting economic and political stability, and investing in mental health, Suriname can overcome its current situation and build a better future for its people.
Imaginative force
In my research, alakondre-fasi is an imaginative force. In this, the model – which entangles nature, culture, art, politics, and spirituality – appears to be feasible for therapeutic purposes of individual and collective nature. The model can serve well as a mechanism for reflection. Besides the language of images (and even that of rhythm), I am also interested in the language of time. In my opinion, this space offers opportunities to stimulate our imagination and to enter a dialogue with deeper layers of our consciousness through metaphors. I believe we can connect ourselves in those dimensions by looking for alternatives to collaborate with the unconscious of our collective archive. Therefore, even if that special visitor I met after the opening of Manifestation 1980-1989 did not express her conclusion, I could still understand how thoughtful and grateful she experiences this manifestation.
Martin Heidegger (cited in Kristensen, 2023) says the following about this: “Giving thanks is positively accepting, receiving, embracing.” This means that the grateful person appropriates that for which he is thankful. Thus, the process of contemplation undergoes a double experience: “recognition of its so-being, as it appears to us, bringing about knowledge of it … and discovery of its value to our Dasein, our existence”; which is doubly true when it comes to giving thanks to our ‘being’, according to Brede Kristensen (2023). In my understanding of the ability that alakondre-fasi can activate in us, I see this ambiguity of thanksgiving and thinking. That’s why I think this model is excellent for collectively reflecting on traumatic events out of gratitude. In nature and culture, pain, frustration and/or trauma can never be completely avoided. I believe they are essential to life. Also, for existence, in which violence manifests itself continuously. Therefore, as a participating artist of This ‘revolution’ is not a tea party , when I collaborate with Kurt Nahar on the art installation 1982: Pocon Cocoon and as co-curator of Manifestation 1980-1989, I reminded myself: “traumatic experiences also act as kick in our butts, to increase our ability to propel ourselves to greater heights (or depths).”
Spiritually, I find that this hebi (curse) is necessary. She works as a housekeeping for individual and collective growth. But then it is also necessary to make use of therapeutic reflection from time to time in which traumas of persons and/or groups can be removed or reduced “through reexperiencing and reinterpretation, imaginary restructuring and reintegration” of the selves or sub-personalities in the unconscious of the self (Nannan Panday, 2022). It is Heidegger whose work has touched me in this process. He sees in Hitler a political father of Germany and in himself the spiritual father. His work inspires me so that I keep asking myself questions about time and space, about technology and biology, about imagination and existence. And yes, about Dasein and alakondre-fasi.
Manifestation 1980-1989 opened with a performance by Alida Neslo. In the real work that we all must do to heal the Surinamese yeye (soul), the first signs of hope may have appeared here. A series of public consultations followed. Perhaps symbolically the beginning of a process of changing consciousness in our collective archive? In any case, I experienced how tension of different individual contributions set something magical in motion.
+++
Sources:
- ChatGPT, May 09, 2023, [Conversation] about psychoanalysis of Suriname
- Kristensen, B., Amigoe [Curaçao newspaper], April 29, 2023 , ‘Denkers van vroeger tot nu’
- Nannan Panday-Jhingoeri, K., De rol van trauma en cultuur bij psychiatrische problematiek, 2022
+++
+++
Look at the Sranan Art Xposed photo album of the This ‘revolution’ is not a tea party exhibition on Flickr here.
+++
This publication was made possible in part by a grant from the Dr. Silvia W. de Groot Fund.
Read more about the Dr. Silvia W. de Groot Fund here (only in Dutch).
Read more about Dr. Silvia W. de Groot here (only in Dutch).
TEXT & TRANSLATION Miguel E. Keerveld
Miguel E. Keerveld (Suriname, 1982) works in conjunction with the brand EdKe and the performance persona tumpi flow. Educated in civil technical engineering, ‘he’ operates with focus on visual language and creative writing. As a hybrid-intuitive concept, ‘she’ performs political interventions related to social practice. As researcher ‘it’ is focused on activating performative politics and manifesting rituals, both related to creative counseling and civic engineering of a cyborg feminist project.
+++
PHOTOS Courtesy Readytex Art Gallery (RAG)
+++