How do we view the things we spit on, deface, push aside, and hide away?
In de ogen van het water (In the eyes of the water) is a visual and narrative exploration featuring an integrated audio piece, which focuses on the emotional impact of the history of slavery in the Netherlands. The work stems from conversations between interdisciplinary artist Anne Jesuina and researcher-photographer Darko Lagunas, conducted within the context of his multi-year field research into Zeeland’s “struggle against the water.”
Slavery monument Kom
At the heart of the installation lies a mythological confrontation. A nameless creature, born of encounters between Zeeland, West African, and Brazilian water spirits, returns to the site where the slavery monument Kom was erected in 2023 and had to be removed by the municipality of Vlissingen shortly thereafter. This monument, an initiative of Angélique Duijndam, chair of Keti Koti Zeeland, and artist Zeus Hoenderop, was secretly installed on the eve of the historic commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery and the apology for the role of the Vlissingen city council in this. Within 24 hours, the monument was defaced. Two weeks later, Hoenderop was issued an injunction, ordering him to remove the monument.
Why was the permit to install the monument denied, especially at a time when the Dutch government was investing 2 million euros to ‘raise awareness, foster connection, and acknowledge the history of slavery as an integral part of our shared history’? And why did the municipality not view the tension caused by the monument’s installation as an opportunity for dialogue, leading instead to its removal?
water, bodies, and history
In the Eyes of the Water reveals how the suppression of emotion hinders policy-making. In the installation, imagery, text, and audio converge in an experience that invites the visitor to slow down and reflect. The work asks how the past continues to resonate in the present—not only in the landscape, but also in the body. Through myths, ancestors, and alternative narratives, a perspective unfolds in which water, bodies, and history are inextricably linked.
Drift. Dune to Dogger Bank
The project is part of the exhibition DRIFT: From the Dunes to Dogger Bank. DRIFT is an initiative of Museum Panorama Mesdag, co-curated with the Embassy of the North Sea and in collaboration with Stroom Den Haag, the Doggerland Foundation, the Dune Conservation Foundation, and Dunea.
Credits
Concept, costume & audio: Anne Jesuina
Text & photography: Darko Lagunas
Styling: Sophie Floor Wartenbergh
Kom Slavery Monument & photography: Zeus Hoenderop
Audio recordings: Harpo ‘t Hart
Commissioned by the Embassy of the North Sea
Read more about In de ogen van het water in the publication Thousands of Futures in Zeeland
