The Particular Unity of Same and Other (an Amplitude) of Paul Hendrikse at Rosa Brux corresponds with the eponymous exhibition that is currently running at Heden in the Hague, the Netherlands. Both shows start from a recent travel that Paul Hendrikse made to Indonesia and reflects upon the image that proceeds the stranger or that remains after he or she has left. The position of the stranger is a crucial one, since it allows a critical distance and uninhibited nearness at the same time.
The works on show at Rosa Brux are a collection of narrative fragments which refers to the period of European colonialism and in particular the Dutch/Indonesian history. Using the works that he made for the Hague as a mould for the one in Brussels, Paul Hendrikse creates resonances between both spaces. It explores what remains and constructs its own echoes, misunderstandings, and interpretations.
As a part of the exhibition at Rosa Brux the performance The Particular Unity of Same and Other will be shown at Muhka in Antwerp on the 28th of June. The performance researches how encounters with “others” by trade, war and during periods of colonization gave specific input upon the Indonesian culture and, more specifically, on the body. Paul Hendrikse studied how dance and martial arts use these foreign influences. By mimicking and adopting animal behavior and movements of ́strangers the Indonesians annexed these movements and turned them into defending strategies, creating a creole body-culture.