MEA CULPA

patricia kaersenhout (2020)

MEA CULPA is based on an investigation into the legacies of power and wealth linked to slavery in regions historically controlled by today’s European powers. The title, MEA CULPA, refers to the traditional Christian practice of atoning for sins through the endurance of physical hardship during ritual pilgrimages.

This installation reimagines that practice in a contemporary context, suggesting an acceptance of guilt by figures representing today’s powerful elites. It invites the audience to project their own understanding of the crimes for which they, too, might wish to atone.

patricia kaersenhout

― Artist

Born in The Netherlands but a descendant of Surinamese parents, patricia kaersenhout developed an artistic practice which investigates their Surinamese background in relation to their upbringing in a Western European culture. The political thread in kaersenhout’s work raises questions about the African Diaspora’s movements and it’s relation to feminism, sexuality, racism, and the history of slavery. Their oeuvre is rooted in ancestral memory. It explores hidden and forgotten histories and evokes a shared understanding of the weight and pain of cultural memory, so crudely shaped by colonialism and Western modernity. kaersenhout envisions a world of multiple possibilities and universes to ensure the potential to dream of a world of peace and joy where many worlds can flourish.

Event

MEA CULPA

patricia kaersenhout (2020)

patricia kaersenhout

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