Curator - selected projects

The exhibition Café Disorient: Sound of the Camp is the final stop in the tour of Friesland that Palestinian-Dutch artist Susanne Khalil Yusef made during her residency. 

VHDG invited Susanne to hit the road with her art project Café Disorient. Previously she presented Café Disorient in various places, including the Valkhof Museum, WORM Rotterdam, Sonsbeek Festival and De Fabriek Eindhoven. During her residency at VHDG, Susanne travelled through the province of Friesland for five weeks, using the café as mobile studio. In every new location she invited new visitors and local communities to come visit her colourful café. 

Among other places, Café Disorient appeared at refugee camps (AZC) with music concerts, coffee serving and encounters taking place. Susanne carried her own stories with her that are closely related to those of the refugees. Stories about the loss of your homeland, displacement through conflict and resistance against aggression and oppression. The café became a place of connection and of community, a place where a feeling of home could be recalled by those who had lost theirs.
 

From Stories to Artifacts

In her art practice, Susanne explores different ways to transform stories and events into images and symbols. She experiments with a wide array of materials: aluminium, clay, bronze and murals, which together form a broad spectrum of experiences, associations and narratives. After an intensive journey Susanne got to work at the well-known Glass Studio in Langweer. Here, she processed the stories she gathered and her own experiences while traveling in Friesland into the glass sculptures that are on display in this exhibition. 
 

The exhibition is a varied collection of symbols, artifacts and archive material. At first glance her work seems light-hearted and playful. On closer look however, the work refers to tragic events closely related to stories of resistance, of people who struggle for their right to live in a safe environment. She asks critical questions about themes such as colonialism, identity and geopolitical power relations.

As a third generation refugee from Palestine, Susanne collects books and films

and other objects from the recent history of the Palestine people. The history of Palestine has been shaped heavily by the founding of the state of Israel, which led to a war that caused nearly one million Palestinians to flee and be deprived of home and country. The consequences of this are often referred to with the term Al-Nakba (catastrophe or disaster). She makes new artifacts that commemorate and symbolize these events.
 

“Joy is an act of resistance.”

The poet Toi Derricotte once said: “Joy is an act of resistance.” This thought shaped Susanne’s approach during her residency. With the mobile café, warm concerts and her playful, colourful sculptures, she creates a welcoming environment for sharing stories and draws attention to invisible histories. In doing so, she keeps initiating dialogue and creating contexts to discuss difficult topics.

More about Susanne Khalil Yusef.