Religion and rituals help to get a grip on uncertainty and difficult situations. The death of a loved one or one’s own mortality are the events in life, which are perhaps the most difficult to grasp, but at the same time, are an inevitable part of life. During the exhibition BEZIELD, various viewpoints of this material were reflected on. Koštana Banović filmed an Islamic funeral ritual, the work of Avantia Damberg reflected on life after death, Lena Davidovich portrayed the experience of a man who rose from the dead, Remy Jungerman’s work refers to ancestor worship, Hamid El Kanbouhi exhibited drawings and paintings on the subject, Ida van der Lee used ritual art to assist with the commemoration of the dead, and Saliou Traoré gave a performance (and film) about religion and death which occurs in public spaces in Amsterdam Southeast.

I set up the ritual Memory Things with the cabinet and carried it out with the public. Unexpected emotions were aroused.

Commission: CBK Amsterdam Southeast – 2014, curator Renske de Jong. 

* Dutch play on words. Bezield means “inspired”, and the syllable “ziel” means soul.