Exhibition: Reciting Footsteps of a Female Migrant - Soerdi

• Date: 23 November
• Location: Koninklijke Bibliotheek atelier

From April 26 through July 14, the exhibition Reciting Footsteps of a Female Migrant: Soerdie by artist and researcher Sarojini Lewis will take place at the KB. The exhibition is about the first female contract worker to emigrate from India to Suriname: Soerdie.

Sarojini Lewis has been researching for some time how various colonial histories come together in a personal life. In 2021, the KB invited her to also search the KB's collections for traces that provide insight on slavery and contract labor. Lewis began her research in the KB at the massive book West Indian Contract Workers in Suriname: 1863-1899 (Paramaribo, 2014) by Humphrey E. Lamur. Among the vast amount of data, she found that of the first female contract worker, Soerdie.

Using books, letters and travel accounts from other contract workers of the time, Lewis reconstructed this woman's life. In this way, she illuminates this historical period from a female perspective. She depicts Soerdie's life as a personal history and provides a penetrating look at the meaning of colonial history.

In the exhibition, Sarojini shows photographic work, printed on fabric canvases, that she made at locations in Suriname, such as former plantation grounds. She combines this with images of documents and books she used for her research. The exhibition also features original collection pieces from the KB in relation to the artist's work. The exhibition also features her performances. The performances can also be seen live during some public events.

Stop by the KB between April 26 and July 14 to visit the exhibition. During this time there is linked fringe programming that inspires dialogue and discussion. It is open to all and completely free.

Made possible in part by the Mondriaan Fund.

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