Gyonne Goedhoop, Richard Kofi & Simone Zeefuik in conversation with artists Najendra Caldera and Swendeline Ersilia. Both make very personal, sensual and healing work. Nash makes performances in the form of rituals and Swendeline's poetry is almost meditative. They have a great impact on the spaces in which they present their work. But what is it like for them to give so much of yourself in an art scene where you are not always understood? And how do you deal with your career and capital, when your art is so personal?
The source of inspiration for this conversation is the work of Marcel Pinas from the exhibition The Visual Life of Social Affection, an initiative of transnational Caribbean platform Small Axe. His installation of boxes 'A Kibii Koni' (hidden knowledge) is a kind of archive of hidden spiritual knowledge of Maroon communities from Suriname. That knowledge remains partly secret: in the exhibition some boxes remain closed.(1) Simone asks Nash and Swendeline about the role that dreams, spirituality and contact with ancestors play in their creative process. This also caused a lot of commotion among the audience present during the recordings.
Artist Najendra Caldera (Willemstad, 1991) explores her own identity as a Black Queer Woman in her work, in order to touch on aspects of the colonial past that play a role in life today. In the ritual experiences she creates for others, she also tries to create a safe space in which she can educate herself about her relationship to her culture. Spirituality, especially Afro-Caribbean religion such as Santeria, plays an important role in her work.
Swendeline Ersilia (Dordrecht, 1995) is a poet and spoken word artist, is a host for Paginagroots and gives writing workshops. In her texts she reflects on the connection between her internal and external world.
