The Particular Unity of the Same and Other

19.06.2015

The Particular Unity of Same and Other (an Amplitude) at Rosa Brux is the Swiss iteration of the eponymous exhibition currently running at Heden in The Hague, Netherlands. Both shows take shape around a recent trip Hendrikse made to Indonesia and reflect on the image that either precedes the foreigner, the outsider, or remains after they have left. The position of the foreigner is a crucial one, since it allows a critical distance and uninhibited proximity at the very same time.

The works on view at Rosa Brux are a collection of narrative fragments referring to the period of European colonialism and in particular Dutch/Indonesian history. Using the pieces he created for The Hague as a model for the exhibition in Brussels, Hendrikse creates resonances between both spaces. The show explores what remains and constructs its own echoes, misunderstandings, and interpretations.

As a part of the exhibition at Rosa Brux, the performance titled The Particular Unity of Same and Other will be featured at Muhka in Antwerp on 28 June. This piece examines how encounters with “others” through trade and war and during periods of colonization furnished specific input on Indonesian culture and in particular the body. Paul Hendrikse has studied how dance and martial arts use these foreign influences. By mimicking and adopting animal behavior and movements of ́foreigners, Indonesians appropriated them and turned them into defense strategies, creating a creole body-culture.

With the generous support of: