Various artists
Art as cultural critique

During a symposium led by Okwui Enwezor, the possible significance that modern art could have for the museum was further investigated, which, in turn, sharpened the focus of the actual assignment. It was made emphatically clear that the intention was not to add new objects to the collection that would compete with the museum’s permanent collection. It was, however, the intention to place works that would offer a critical angle to the objects in the collection. With its new interior the museum aims to reveal how we Westerners view the art of different cultures.

Artists from a variety of countries within Europe (including the Netherlands) as well as outside of Europe, were selected for the project.

Roy Villevoye

Roy Villevoye placed the T-shirts he had collected during his wanderings through Papua New Guinea, between the classical objects in the Oceania room.
At first sight they look like hanging rags but, upon closer inspection, one can see that these T-shirts have been beautifully manufactured by the Asmats.

Moniek Toebosch

The sound installations of the Dutch artist, Moniek Toebosch, can be heard in different locations within the museum
From the museum’s depot she obtained some recordings of old musical instruments which she digitally processed, thus creating a contemporary sound installation. By means of sensors the visitors can continually activate different segments of the work and can, hence, create their own composition merely by how they walk.

Ken Lum

Canadian Ken Lum’s work is represented by three enormous mirrors that are shaped like heads and can be found in the hypermodern information center. They allude to the drawings of the Eighteenth Century anthropologist, Jules Virey, who compared the profiles of a European, an African and a monkey. The conclusions that Virey drew from the similarities between the profiles, inspired Lum to add to the mirrors the following sandblasted text: "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil".

Jens Haaning

Every hour in various locations of the museum’s garden one could hear Turkish jokes. Danish artist, Jens Haaning, created this work.

Andries Botha

South African artist, Andries Botha’s work, 'An Outdoor Archive', seeks to confront the Dutch visitor by presenting a collection of typical Dutch objects. These objects, which he came across during his ‘safari’ through the Netherlands include speculaas (traditional spiced cookies), bicycle parts, dildos, dog turds and a football.

Remy Jungerman

On one of the museum’s monumental facades the Suriname-born Remy Jungerman realized the work, 'Confused Receivers'. On top of a smoothened path (a symbol of the migrating human) he installed a crisscross of satellite dishes, each connected to the interior of the museum.

Meshac Gaba

The work of Meshac Gaba (Benin) focuses on money in a variety of forms. In one of the most picturesque locations of the museum’s garden, Gaba placed an invitingly soft golden bed. The head frame is made of gilded coins from all parts of the world: 'In memoriam anonymous artists & anonymous visitors'.

Cildo Mereiles

In the hall of the museum, Brazilian artist, Cildo Mereiles, juxtaposes a variety of cultures by using a collection of almost 500 newspapers from 112 different countries. All newspapers were printed on the same date and have been piled on top of each other to form an enormous, symbolic totem. The newspapers can also be consulted by way of a computer system.

For more information, visit the National Museum of Ethnology’s website: ^*