Gay Monument

This intervention is part of the research project Travelling Communique, curated by Doreen Mende. This project is informed by the idea that the collective statement articulated as a call for a new kind of internationalism by the 25 delegates of the first Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Belgrade, September 1961, remains unanswered. Travelling Communique enquires into the possibilities of 'prolonging' the formation of the NAM into the social conditions of the present. The NAM can be understood as a third space of emancipation that sought to unsettle the bipolar world order through a wide variety of anti-colonial thinking. The Travelling Communique is an attempt to understand the process of becoming a political subject, initiated by those without names whose voices exist despite the efforts to silence them. Part of this project is a research trip to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), in order to investigate the remainings of the NAM moment in 1961 in this specific area. Part of this investigation was a three-hour discussion in an ancient forrest attended by around 30 people about gay rights. The most striking about this event for me was that it resulted in a more or less 29 people trying to convince one Ethiopian man about the importance of accepting gays. Especially after spending months discussing the importance of anti-colonial thinking.

Travelling Communique– Museum of Yugoslav History
– official website

Nettie

Nettie is an intervention of two paintings and a name tag. Both a collaboration with artist Klaas Burger as an intervention in his artistry. He invites me in his open atelier for homeless people in Breda. Nettie is a visitor and Klaas tells her that he thinks her paintings are beautiful. At my request to present these paintings as his own work, he says he wishes to keep his philanthropical work separate from his artistry. I suggest to exhibit the paintings at the railway station where I happen to have the key of this window case. Unasked I add the tag 'Nettie by Klaas Burger and Monique Hendriksen'.

Annahuis Breda– Inloopatelier

Opening

Opening is an intervention by a performance, a happening, and a sculpture in the railway station of Breda commisioned by IDFX Foundation. Monthly their showcase window in the underpass of the railway station of Breda is used as an exhibition space in order to confront a wide range of people with experimental, non-conventional art and to give aspiring artists the oppurtunity to present their work to a large audience. The 119th edition of Innercity Etalage in Vitrine 8 is a performance called 'Opening'. It's literally the opening of the showcase which contains this sculpture. At the night of the opening, I read page 259 from 'Single and .. Father! by Robert Alison, a novel from the 'Rebellious Doctors' series. Thereafter, the showcase was opened and the cold plate was eaten by the public and myself. The remains of this act were visible and smellable for a month after. thropical work separate from his artistry. I suggest to exhibit the paintings at the railway station where I happen to have the key of this window case. Unasked I add the tag 'Nettie by Klaas Burger and Monique Hendriksen'.

Idfx Breda– Persbericht
Idf Breda– official website