unvergessen (2021 - ongoing) by Laura Jatkowski,  paperwork  by Charlotte Largo , drawings by Deniz Aktaş (in the back)

unvergessen (2021 - ongoing) by Laura Jatkowski, drawings by Deniz Aktaş 

We are at a crossroads as humanity; which world do we want to leave to future generations? In all the dilemmas, stress and disagreement that the choice for the future entails, it is paradoxically the time behind us that takes centre stage: the past is being attacked, defended, conquered, rediscovered, denied, decolonised, dismantled, buried, commemorated and polished from all sides.

That the past is difficult to explain with simple oppositions like right and wrong seems to be a thorn in the side of all camps: the winners are not always the good guys, the losers not necessarily wrong. The lines between right and wrong show themselves to be blurred, unclear and fickle. Perpetrators and victims can be found on both sides, often united in one and the same person.

Through an exhibition, Military Cemetery Ysselsteyn, Odapark and Venrays Museum want to acknowledge and explore the twilight zone of the past. With video installations, audio experiences, drawings and sculptures, we show perspectives by international artists from Turkey, Ukraine, France, the United States and Germany, linked to stories from the immediate surroundings.

by Joep Vossebeld

Tomb monuments are among the oldest structures we as humanity make. Monuments in stone, wood or earth that are sometimes still recognisable in the landscape thousands of years later. In their monumental scale (think pyramids), they sometimes seem close to the promise of eternal life after death. But even structures in the hardest stone slowly lose their shape; drop by drop they wash away. Their original meaning and use erodes even faster; names and events are often forgotten in a few generations.

Nowadays, tombstones often remain standing for only 35-40 years, after which the grave is cleared to make way. Laura Jatkowski (DE, 1991) took charge of some of these discarded stones and meticulously drilled out all the letters. The stone, stripped of name, dates and other information, is no longer linked to one individual and their memories. Freed from personal characteristics, the headstones become a more universal expression of remembrance and commemoration, with the holes giving space and everyone's own memories. The pile of stone letters on the ground, in a motley collection of typography, seem completely detached from their original function. They lie waiting like letters in old letter box or printing press; ready to write new stories with. by Joep Vossebeld