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How do you connect with the past and your family history when there are gaps and silences in it? This is one of the major questions in the art practice of Travis Geertruida (1993). Born in Curaçao as a member of the African Diaspora, he considers his (family) history to be fragmented. His multidisciplinary work attempts to reconstruct his story, thus giving shape to new myths, rituals, and monuments.
The drawing on Geertruida’s tile tableau The King’s Perspective (2025), visualizes a fragment of this personal folklore. The image illustrates the change in perspective the artist experienced when he left Curaçao and moved to the Netherlands. While in Curaçao there was a strong sense of belonging to the Netherlands, Geertruida noticed that people in the Netherlands hardly felt connected to the island. The waterfall featured in the drawing represents the ocean Curaçao is located in, while the small country underneath that waterfall represents the Netherlands.
Cactus-like shapes, such as the sculpture Kurason Skondí (Verborgen Hart) (2025), are also part of Geertruida’s mythology. To him these plants symbolize paradise. They introduce moisture and life to the barren desert: an oasis – albeit a prickly one, difficult to access. That also applies to the water streaming through the sculpture. Although you can hear it, it remains hidden from view.
Geertruida makes large-scale works with heavy materials. His tile tableau is made from clay soil. To Geertruida this material symbolizes the connection with the past and the dead. After all, the soil carries all kinds of traces of past times and lives.
Text: Sarah van Binsbergen
Translated from Dutch by Marie Louise Schoondergang (The Art of Translation)