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Kant'i Laman No 3 (Aan het water No 3)
Artist Gilleam Trapenberg (1991)
Title Kant'i Laman No 3 (Aan het water No 3)
Year 2022
Material Inkjet print on aluminium
About the work The young people in this image are standing at the water’s edge on the north coast of Curaçao, looking out over the sea together: somewhere very far in the distance is the Netherlands. For the artist, this image symbolises the question every young person on Curaçao asks themselves: stay on the island, or go abroad where there are more opportunities? In doing so, these young people not only look at the Netherlands as the coloniser of Curaçao in the past, but also as the country where their future may lie. This image depicts the intrinsic connection between past, present and future.
About the artist In his work, Gilleam Trapenberg reflects on the contradictions that are part of the social landscape on Curaçao. The image of a utopian paradise is diametrically opposed to the daily reality of mass tourism and the legacy of the colonial past. He was born in Willemstad, Curaçao, and studied photography at the Koninklijke Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten in The Hague. Trapenberg has received several grants and awards for his work, including the Florentine Riem Vis Grant. In 2021, he held his first solo exhibition at Foam, in Amsterdam. He currently lives and works in Amsterdam.
In the collection Acquired in 2023. Three other photographs by Trapenberg were previously acquired, including Westpunt<interne link naar deze kunstbeschrijving>. De Nederlandsche Bank purchased these works with the aim of encouraging young artists. Trapenberg’s photographs also depict societal themes such as migration and the legacy of the colonial past.
