Exhibition 'The Hero, the Villain and the Truth' in Kunstlinie
The Hero, the Villain and the Truth presents the work of artist Folkert de Jong in an innovative, theatrical setting. With stimulating audio stories and theatrical lighting, the life-size human figures (made of insulation material) are staged and provided with meaning and interpretation. Authors and theatre makers such as Abdelkader Benali and Elfie Tromp wrote the stories. The exhibition aims to be a showcase of how visual art can be presented in a more narrative, accessible and in-depth way.
A creative history lesson
Martin Luther disguised as a terrorist. Jesus and Mary in reverse roles. Queen Wilhelmina as a circus director. Snoop Dogg as a totem pole. With distorted versions of historical figures, Folkert de Jong shows how history comes about, could have gone differently and is still changing. Together, the images tell the story of our country's history - our commercial spirit, the role of religion, the position of women - and how this history has been written and is being rewritten. The exhibition is a creative and visual history lesson that is as cheerful as it is grim.
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 zeitgeist leads to a different history. This makes De Jong's work and this exhibition current and relevant, now that social issues such as racism, gender identity and colonialism are calling the transmission of history into full discussion.
