Description
Youth Care of Jakarta tells the story of parents who attempted to send their children to the Netherlands during and after the Indonesian struggle for independence. For Indo-European families, the end of the Second World War did not bring safety, but a new period of uncertainty. Choosing a Dutch identity often also meant choosing departure, though its outcome was far from assured.
For reasons of safety, health, financial means, or future prospects, parents appealed to institutions and systems of youth care. Children were sometimes sent ahead in the hope of protection and a future. The artist’s grandmother traveled to the Netherlands as a child with two younger brothers. What does it ask of parents to let their children go without knowing whether it will succeed? And what does it mean for a child to depart as a pioneer, without knowing what lies ahead?
The work begins with a small note from the family archive of Margaretha’s great-grandfather. The joined canvas sections and corrigible materials carry traces of rupture and care preserving what could not be captured in words.
Charcoal, India ink, bistre, gesso and oilstick on canvas
approx. 200 × 220 cm
The artworks are part of the solo exhibition by Eva Margaretha at Galerie Wind, Rotterdam, from 15 February to 15 March. Opening: 15 February at 3 pm. The works will be available after the exhibition.
