During the conversation Surinamese-Dutch Artist Remy Jungerman will talk on 10 February about how is work is influenced by Afro-religious esthetics. Jungerman is an independent fine artists and curator who lives and works in Amsterdam, he is considered one of the influential black fine artists in the Netherlands.
Remy Jungerman has a fascination for the Afro-religious esthetics, that connect him to the African Diaspora and the religious knowledge of his Maroon ancestors in Suriname. His fascination includes altars, colors and (grid) patterns in cloth used in rituals, objects used in offers and libations. Through this fascination he developed into a multimedia artist working with installations and collages. Some of the main themes in his work are trans-nationality, belonging and the way knowledge exchange between cultures.
Read more about the talk here.
Below an interesting video entitled "Happy Land Apuku Return Blue Eye", which is about Jungerman and his art project in the city of Moengo in Suriname, the place of his birth and the place where he has left more than twenty years ago. Happy land refers to a place in that region and Apuku is a god in the Afro-Surinamese religion Winti. The project is part of a Dutch artist in residence project in Moengo.
One of the artists who also appears in the video is Maroon artist Marcel Pinas. In the video he talks about how he wants to develop the region by attracting tourist with his art projects.
If you want to know more about Maroon communities check the website of
Abeng Central . The website is edited by Anouska kock.
Man! I would give anything to hear him speak! When artists, anthropologists, and Pan-Africanists talkk about African religions in the Americas almost always they limit their focus to Yoruba practice, Candomble and Santeria in Cuba and Brazil; Vodoun (Voodoo) in Haiti and the Dominican Republic; Shango in Trinidad and Tobago; Garifuna Spirituality in Honduras and Belize; and Obeah in Jamaica. Suriname is very, very rarely brought up in the discussion.
ReplyDeleteWhen I visited Suriname, I stayed in the city of Paramaribo, which is a modern, urban place with some areas of great wealth. I say this because, Surinamese friends who I had met took me to a Winti ceremony in someone's BACKYARD right there in the city! This was not in the bush, not in a Maroon community, but right in the city of Paramaribo! There was not even an enclosure of trees or shrubs to shield what was going on. When we drove up the car's headlights showed everything. There were also lights in the yard to see the happenings. (We got there around nine o'clock at night).I couldn't believe what I was blessed to see in the largest city in the country.
We got out of the car, my friends gave greetings in Sran Tongo (the Dutch dialect of Suriname), and the participants of the ceremony continued dancing in a circle, waiting for the ancestral gods to descend---right there in the open. This was not in a "hounfort" (Vodoun temple) as in Haiti, or in a building of any sort. IN THE OPEN IN SOMEONE'S BACKYARD! I found that totally amazing!
Anyway, the African presence in Suriname is far stronger than outside researchers admit to. And not just Maroon-Surinamese, either. These were Creole-Surinamese holding this Winti ceremony in someone's backyard in the city! (The Creole-Surinamese are educated, multi-lingual Blacks who occupy positions of power in government, economics and social life in the country).
You're absolutly right John, Winti is a creole thing. John. And yes it would be very interesting to hear him talk about his work.
DeleteJohn, why don't write a book about your experiences, or for starters why don't write a post for Afro-Europe, just as Chico-Rei did? It's black History Month!
I love his work and will be there to support on Sunday, and I also posted on "Black Heritage Amsterdam Tours'Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Welcome-to-Black-Heritage-Amsterdam-Tours/351401081614405?ref=ts&fref=ts. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteDamn! I broke as hell but I see I better come to Holland this month if I don't want to miss some big things! I need to book a bed on hostelle.com
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Afro-Europe and John :-)