An exhibition project about the representation of war and violence that takes as its starting point the Van Kittensteyn Album (1613), a collection of more than 500 prints and drawings.
The exhibition project WAR AS EVER! was commissioned by Nederlands Fotomuseum in collaboration with the Atlas Van Stolk, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
WAR AS EVER! took as its starting point the Van Kittensteyn Album, a collection of more than 500 prints and drawings dating from 1613 whose subject is the Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648), the Dutch war of independence against the Spanish which led to the formation of the Dutch Republic. In the collection of the Atlas van Stolk, the album was compiled by Willem Luytsz van Kittensteyn of Delft and portrays in bloody reportage the lengthy series of battles; sieges, executions and plundering.
Interested in the relationship between conflict, looking and art, Tracy & Edwin investigated through visual reflection on images of war, murder and torture, the relationship between the Van Kittensteyn Album and the contemporary role of the media in the representation of war and violence. During the research pahse they took up various roles (artist, curator, educator) to make connections between the Atlas van Stolk and the Nederlands Fotomuseum’s collection, and various sites in Rotterdam.
Ten posters, designed by Tracy & Edwin, show a series of quotes from Susan Sontag’s book Regarding the Pain of Others as a way of contextualising and introducing the viewing experience that was offered to the public.
The slide projection WAR AS EVER!: Eighty Years and One Day is made up of a selection of prints from the Van Kittensteyn Album and newspaper excerpts reporting the Iraq war, bought on 1st April 2003, at the start of the war and on the day that Tracy & Edwin’s daughter Esméemilja was born.
Part of the project took place at various locations in the city of Rotterdam. Tracy played the role of The Print Pedlar, a specially developed character based on the historical figure of a street vendor. Moving through the city, she showed a series of black and white photographs that included images from the Nederlands Fotomuseum’s collection and Edwin’s family album, to stimulate discussions with passers-by on the subject of human suffering and violence.
While performing the role of The Print Pedlar, Tracy shared her reflections and observations on The Print Pedlar’s Blog
The conference WAR AS EVER? The artist and the museum in the conflict zone was chaired by Frits Gierstberg, Head of Exhibitions, Nederlands Fotomuseum and included presentations by Brigitte van der Sande, Art Historian and Curator; Lina van der Wolde, Director of the Atlas van Stolk; Geert van Kesteren, Photojournalist; Flip Bool, Senior Curator of Collections & Research, Nederlands Fotomuseum and Tracy & Edwin. Amongst the participants were students from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design’s Master of Fine Art programme at the University of Dundee.
The publication WAR AS EVER! (2013), published by Onomatopee, represents the project and includes commissioned texts, designed in collaboration with Stout/Kramer.
The journal article by Tracy & Edwin, WAR AS EVER! Art Practice as Interface, has been published in The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum (2013).
Supported by Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee, The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland and the Atlas van Stolk.