Archive: articles
Serge Attukwei Clottey: The Wishing Well
Serge Attukwei Clottey is attracting well-deserved attention for his striking installation The Wishing Well, created for the edition of Desert X 2021, in Coachella Valley, California. Composed of two large cubes covered in yellow plastic, the installation draws on Clottey’s signature use of cut-up plastic jerrycans, derisively known as Kufuor Gallons in his home country of Ghana
Jean-Christophe Maur on The Wishing Well of Serge Attukwei Clottey
The Wishing Well (detail), 2021
First published: April, 2021
Dineke Blom – Dutch/Surinamese – and her affection for Dutch paintings from the 17th century
What took me by surprise back then, and what I tried to articulate in my answer, is that I was surprised that someone would be surprised that someone “with my background”, angry with and personally hurt by colonialism and slavery, could have an affectionate relationship with Dutch paintings from the 17th century. And yet, I feel at home with Pieter de Hooch’s The Country Cottage. I also feel at home at Paramaribo’s Waterkant. Both places pull me in with equal intensity, as if by teleportation. Both emotions: affection and anger towards two opposite phenomenons from one and the same historical period do not rule each other out, they coexist. Inside me there is no opposition. There is no true opposition.
Artist Dineke Blom tries to answer the question how an artist with a Surinamese background can have an affectionate relationship with Dutch art from the 17th century.
Landscape, 2003
First published: September 6, 2020
Looking for rebels in Surinamese art
It is clear that many people in Suriname not yet fully realize that artists can only arrive at great results by stepping out of comfort zones. By venturing into the unknown. We should be proud of what these free spirits offer us, and we truly believe that societies can greatly benefit from their artistic gifts.
Therefore we think that releasing their inner rebel might be sound advice for art lovers too!