Commissioned by: CBK Zuid Oost, Amsterdam

Powered by: Fonds Ammodo & Mondriaanfonds

24/10 – 31/12/2019

Conversation: 1. Meesterschap heeft tijd nodig’ with Margriet Schavemaker / 2. Imagining Migration In-Between: A Conversation with Charl Landvreugd

Reviews: e-flux / africanah / mister motley

Emotion is a significant force in Landvreugd’s art. And of course, it helps if you know something of the artist’s background and if you take an interest in the public debate on colonialism and racism in the Netherlands. Landvreugd seems to want to combine knowledge and emotion. By doing so, he creates space for the possibility of insight beyond the personal and the anecdotal.

Movt. nr. 10 Ososma is a monumental solo exhibition. It is a new large-scale work and exhibition consisting of twelve pavillions. The presentation is a layered self-portrait by Landvreugd in which he critically looks back on his genesis as an artist, and reflects on the current state of affairs. It is also an inspired commentary on existing paradigms in the art world. Transformation is a key concept in Landvreugd’s work and, therefore, as well in this exhibition. He argues that being in a continuous state of transition; personality is never static or ‘pure’, but is — consciously or unconsciously — determined by encounters and events in the past, present, and future. More than ever, Landvreugd emphasizes in movt. nr. 10 Ososma that hybridity is characteristic of our contemporary time and our future. His practice arises from the space that comes into existence when this hybridity is taken for granted. Movt. nr. 10: Ososma is the first solo exhibition in a museum context commissioned by CBK Zuidoost in Amsterdam.

Landvreugd creates a new large-scale installation based on the plan in Tembe—the collective term for wood carving and painting by Maroons in the interior of Suriname. The structure simultaneously becomes the carrier for other new and existing works by the artist. In this form, Movt. nr. 10: Ososma becomes artwork and exhibition folded into one. At the same time, it serves as a platform for temporary interventions such as performances and a public programme. Content-wise, the installation provides the context for the central theme in Landvreugd’s work: a reflection on cultural hybridity as a basic principle of the 21st century.

The exhibition functions as a self-portrait and offers a critical reflection on wanting to belong while becoming. The installation includes snapshots of a creative process and a practice that incorporates a diversity of materials and styles.

Over the two months of the project, the space / installation / sculpture—and the old and new works within it—will be further loaded with meaning. This occurs through performances that take place in the space at specific times. In African and Surinamese traditions, giving meaning to lifeless objects through dance and music is deeply rooted. This practice travelled with enslaved Africans to Suriname and, as in the Netherlands and parts of Surinamese society today, continues to be cherished as a cultural tradition. Without interaction, the objects are, in a sense, dead and meaningless.

The performances realised by Landvreugd are connected to this performative tradition, yet they also have an autonomous scenario and design. Performed by himself or by other dancers, these actions draw inspiration from the dance and club culture of the 1980s and 1990s—a subculture carried and shaped by the gay scene. In this way, just as in the total project, the performative programme of Movt. Nr. 10: Ososma is characterised by a mixture of cultural influences and traditions.

installation shots: Lesley Adu