Hollands Kabinet (Dutch Cabinet)
21 Jan - 29 Apr 2012
© Sara van der Heide
Hollands Kabinet 1-126
installation view De Appel 2011
Photo Cassander Eeftinck Schattenkerk
Hollands Kabinet 1-126
installation view De Appel 2011
Photo Cassander Eeftinck Schattenkerk
HOLLANDS KABINET (DUTCH CABINET)
Remarkable series of drawings by Sara van der Heide
21 January - 29 April, 2012
The serial work Hollands Kabinet (2010-201?) is an ‘ongoing project’ by Dutch artist Sara van der Heide. Van der Heide started her series of cabinets on 14 October 2010, the day of the installation of the government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a combination of VVD, CDA supported by the populist right-wing Freedom Party (PVV). Everyday, she makes a drawing of another ‘Hollands Kabinet’. Hollands Kabinet is a colloquial term for the Dutch government, but also the name for a traditional Dutch storage cabinet. According to the artist, this wooden cabinet symbolizes the multiform nature and diversity of the Dutch history. On 21 January, there will already be a collection of 451 diversified cabinets on display in the long corridor from the museum to the museum café. The number will continue to grow each day the government of Prime Minister Rutte is in charge.
The Van Abbemuseum wishes to promote and show art that addresses the social reality of today. Hollands Kabinet is in line with this vision. With Sara van der Heide’s project, the museum returns to the issue of Dutch identity which was central to its big research and exhibition project Be(com)ing Dutch (2007-2008) as well as in other projects. Charles Esche, director of the Van Abbemuseum: “What is strong about Sara van der Heide’s project, is that it builds something, where the current government is only deconstructing. The works shows that art is a fragile, exciting and mysterious activity, which creates a space for a type of reflection that is nowhere else to be found.. If you lose this possibility, you will make society poorer and almost unaware of its own decisions.”
Culture and identity
Our current government seems to have a difficult relationship with culture and identity and the growing collection of drawn cabinets of Sara van der Heide’s Hollands Kabinet confronts the government in a forceful matter. "What is national culture? What is ‘Dutch’?" the ever growing list of drawings silently seems to ask. Is culture repetition? Is it identity? Is it familiarity? The cabinets – intimate pieces of furniture that are often passed on from generation to generation for decades – form an ever growing mass, that undermine the uniform image of the supposed ‘Dutch culture’. This typical Dutch piece of furniture in its many different appearances, is a meeting place for many influences. The Dutch cabinets, which have been produced around the world during colonial times, bear traces of a culture that is not clear and uniform, but rooted in a complex, rich, international and sometimes painful history that can not simply be forgotten.
Remarkable series of drawings by Sara van der Heide
21 January - 29 April, 2012
The serial work Hollands Kabinet (2010-201?) is an ‘ongoing project’ by Dutch artist Sara van der Heide. Van der Heide started her series of cabinets on 14 October 2010, the day of the installation of the government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a combination of VVD, CDA supported by the populist right-wing Freedom Party (PVV). Everyday, she makes a drawing of another ‘Hollands Kabinet’. Hollands Kabinet is a colloquial term for the Dutch government, but also the name for a traditional Dutch storage cabinet. According to the artist, this wooden cabinet symbolizes the multiform nature and diversity of the Dutch history. On 21 January, there will already be a collection of 451 diversified cabinets on display in the long corridor from the museum to the museum café. The number will continue to grow each day the government of Prime Minister Rutte is in charge.
The Van Abbemuseum wishes to promote and show art that addresses the social reality of today. Hollands Kabinet is in line with this vision. With Sara van der Heide’s project, the museum returns to the issue of Dutch identity which was central to its big research and exhibition project Be(com)ing Dutch (2007-2008) as well as in other projects. Charles Esche, director of the Van Abbemuseum: “What is strong about Sara van der Heide’s project, is that it builds something, where the current government is only deconstructing. The works shows that art is a fragile, exciting and mysterious activity, which creates a space for a type of reflection that is nowhere else to be found.. If you lose this possibility, you will make society poorer and almost unaware of its own decisions.”
Culture and identity
Our current government seems to have a difficult relationship with culture and identity and the growing collection of drawn cabinets of Sara van der Heide’s Hollands Kabinet confronts the government in a forceful matter. "What is national culture? What is ‘Dutch’?" the ever growing list of drawings silently seems to ask. Is culture repetition? Is it identity? Is it familiarity? The cabinets – intimate pieces of furniture that are often passed on from generation to generation for decades – form an ever growing mass, that undermine the uniform image of the supposed ‘Dutch culture’. This typical Dutch piece of furniture in its many different appearances, is a meeting place for many influences. The Dutch cabinets, which have been produced around the world during colonial times, bear traces of a culture that is not clear and uniform, but rooted in a complex, rich, international and sometimes painful history that can not simply be forgotten.