De held, de schurk en de waarheid

Theatrical

Authors and theatre makers such as Abdelkader Benali, Elfie Tromp, Roziena Salihu and Maxine Palit de Jongh wrote the stories. The theatrical performance allows the audience to understand and experience De Jong's work in more depth and shows how art can also be presented differently (more narrative, more accessible, with more depth).

What is the exhibition about?

The exhibition presents historical figures such as Governor Peter Minuit (while he 'buys' Manhattan), Maarten Luther (disguised as a terrorist), Jesus and Mary (in reverse roles), Queen Wilhelmina (as a circus director), Snoop Dogg (as a totem pole) and Zeeuws Meisje. Together, the images tell a story about the history of our country - our commercial spirit, the role of religion, the position of women - and how this history has been written and is being rewritten. The exhibition forms a unique, creative and visual history lesson, which is as cheerful as it is grim. The artist plays with history: turns the tables, lets contemporary problems emerge in the past and historical events unfold differently than we are used to.

Current relevance

The hero, the villain and the truth shows how Folkert De Jong uses his art as a weapon to question history. ‘An innocent weapon, ‘because you only look at it. But I want to show that history is not only static but also malleable. Roles can change over time.’ The exhibition shows how a different spirit of the times leads to a different history. This makes De Jong's work and this exhibition topical and relevant, now that social issues such as racism, gender identity and colonialism are fully questioning the transmission of history.