Gilleam Trapenberg will be showing his series New Suns during Manifestation #37: Keti Koti Westerpark X Buro Stedelijk X Kunsttraject. Trapenberg started the series in 2020 out of a longing and yearning to Curacao, the island he grew up on. The sun, palms lining pristine white sand beaches and an azure blue sea. However, this yearning manifested in a primarily embodied endeavor to depict Curaçao as a place of individuals with a distinct culture and character, imbued with history and future aspirations.
With his series New Suns, Trapenberg questions the Caribbean sun as a symbol of exoticism, commercialism and tourism. He examines not only the attractiveness we connect to ideas of the Caribbean, but also helps us revisit stereotypical images that establish the notion of a utopic Caribbean paradise. Carefully nudging us to see how the island flourishes partially because of the sun, but the resulting economic prosperity does not always benefit the island residents.
The suns captured through Gilleam’s lens are meticulously documented during his stays on Curaçao, where the creative process unfolds through digital manipulation, delicately adjusting colors and hues within the negatives.
Trapenberg shot the New Suns on Curaçao and developed them in the Netherlands. Together, we are exploring ways to exhibit them in Amsterdam outside of the white cube and make them accessible to a wide audience that can admire the works 24/7. What might it mean to exhibit this body of work in the Staatsliedenbuurt, accessible day and night and in relation to Keti Koti. What might it mean to show this work not in a gallery, museum or project space but rather 24/7 in windows in the Staatsliedenbuurt?
INFO
Kunsttraject Staatsliedenbuurt, June 2 – August 31
24/7 on show
Free entrance / Gratis toegang
Route: Fannius Scholtenstraat 20– J M Kemperstraat 121, 140, 148, 89 –Van der Hoopstraat 41, 66, 88, 89 – Van Hallstraat 13, 31 – Groen van Prinstererstraat 61
