Artist Talk: storytelling, photography and Peranakan

(Dutch below)

How do we ensure that stories from history will be saved for the future? The biography or family history of a photographer is sometimes the starting point for his / her work. In language and image they shine light on stories or offer a counterweight to developments in today's society. At the same time, their work reflects their own position as a photographer in relation to history and society.

Together with photographers Adrian Mulya en Kevin Kwee we pay attention to the story of Peranakan Chinese, a term that usually refers to the Chinese who went to the former colony of the Dutch East Indies. Kwee lives in the Netherlands, Mulya in Indonesia. Both have a Peranakan (Chinese-Indonesian) family background. How do they relate to that history? And how does this reflect in their work?

A talk about photography, identity and passion.

With a presentation by landscape architect Wiwi Tjiook (Chinese Indonesian Heritage Centre) about the history of Peranakan; and a special contribution of writer Angelina Enny. The talk is hosted by Maria Lamslag.

Artist Talk: Storytelling, Fotografie & Peranakan

Met fotografen Adrian Mulya en Kevin Kwee besteden we tijdens deze artist talk aandacht aan het verhaal van Peranakan-chinezen, een term die doorgaans verwijst naar de Chinezen die naar de voormalige kolonie Nederlands-Indië kwamen. Hoe zorgen we ervoor dat deze verhalen uit de geschiedenis niet verloren gaan? De biografie of familiegeschiedenis van een fotograaf vormt soms het startpunt voor zijn/haar werk. In beeldtaal schijnen zij licht op verhalen of bieden tegenwicht op ontwikkelingen in de huidige samenleving. Tegelijkertijd weerspiegelt hun werk hun eigen positie als fotograaf ten opzichte van de geschiedenis en samenleving.

Kwee woont in Nederland, Mulya in Indonesië. Beiden hebben een Peranakan (Chinees-Indonesische) familieachtergrond. Hoe verhouden zij zich tot die geschiedenis? En, hoe komt dit terug in hun werk?

Een talk over fotografie, identiteit en passie.

Met een lezing van landschapsarchitecte Wiwi Tjiook (Chinese Indonesian Heritage Centre) over de Peranakan geschiedenis en een speciale bijdrage van schrijfster Angelina Enny. De talk wordt gemodereerd door Maria Lamslag.

(Let op! Taal: Engels)

Program

15.00 – 15.30          Registration
15.30 – 17.00         

Presentation by Wiwi Tjiook
Artist Talk with Adrian Mulya & Kevin Kwee
Storytelling by Angelina Enny
Host: Maria Lamslag

17.00 – 17.30          Borrel / drinks

(language: English)

Date: Saturday 24 augustus 2019
Location: Museum Sophiahof, Sophialaan 10, Den Haag
Registration: info@indischherinneringscentrum.nl  (subject Artist Talk Peranakan)
Fee: € 5,- at the door (pay with pin). There is an additional reduction fee (€ 5,-) for visiting the exhibition Fighting for Freedom - The many faces of resistance. (Vechten voor Vrijheid. De verschillende gezichten van verzet)

Biographies speakers 

Kevin Kwee (NL) is an independent photographer and works on several self-initiated projects, among them the project "Peranakan". Kwee about the project: 'A lot has been written, documented and photographed about Indies and Moluccan culture in the Netherlands, but hardly about the Peranakan or Chinese Indonesian culture, rooted in the former Dutch East-Indies. This motivated me to start this project. Who are the Peranakan Chinese in the Netherlands? How do they feel? And, how do they describe their identity influenced by three cultures: the Indonesian, Chinese and Dutch? The project started as a personal search for my own identity, but has since then grown into a wish to literally give this large community in the Netherlands a face with my portraits.” Kwee also shares his photography experiences at snapdojo.nl

Adrian Mulya (ID) is an independent photographer, specialized in documentary and journalistic photography. His interest in documentary photography grew through his friendship with senior photographers in Indonesia and his photographic education at the Panna Photo Institute and Antara Photojournalism Gallery. In 2016 Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia published his photobook "Winners of Life", a series of portraits featuring Indonesian women who have been accused as communist activists and survived the reprisals in the 1965s. Currently he is working on several projects, among them the ongoing project "Keroncong Irama Jakarta", a story about a Betawi music group preserving keroncong music and the relation with Chinese topics in Indonesia.

Especially for the Artist Talk, Kwee and Mulya will exhibit a selection of their works at Museum Sophiahof.

Wiwi Tjiook (NL) is born in Bandung in Indonesia and came to the Netherlands in 1971. Following her graduation in Landscape Architecture in 1985 from the Wageningen University, she worked in Indonesia for 11 years. She returned to the Netherlands in 1997 and currently works as landscape architect for the Municipality of Rotterdam. Drawn by her interest in her family history and the Chinese-Indonesian culture, she became a volunteer at the Chinese Indonesian Heritage Center (CIHC) since 2011. She is a member of CIHC’s core team/Activities and Projects Workgroup, manages the CIHC-Facebook page and is involved in the Oral History project. Due to her professional background she has developed an interest in Pecinan (Chinatowns) in Indonesia and wrote an article in Wacana Journal in 2017 and gave a presentation on the subject at CIHC’s open day in 2018.

Angelina Enny (ID) is a writer, actor and director in theatre. Her book "Nokturnal Melankolia" was nominated as Kusala Literature Award in 2018 and has been transferred into a theatre performance. Now, she is working on a new novel "Anjangsana" that tells the story of her personal relationship with her nanny who had to take another identity during the New Order Era.

Maria-Rey Lamslag (NL) is documentary filmmaker, curator and researcher with a special interest in photography. She is currently working on several documentary projects, among them the documentary "Foto Negatif", and is affiliated as a program maker for the Wereldmuseum in Rotterdam. (Photo (c) Amber Toorop)

 

 

This Artist Talk is made possible thanks to the "My Story, Shared History"-project of Komunitas Salihara, DutchCulture and the Indies Commemoration Centre (IHC), and in cooperation with the Chinese Indonesian Heritage Centre.

 

 

Banner:

Selfportrait and Kamina & Kusalini (Project: Winners of Life) (c) Adrian Mulya

Selfportrait (Project Keluarga) (c) Kevin Kwee