In the garden of the Luther Museum, Lisette Ros presents the live performance ‘(the Act of) Uprooting.’ It is the first time this work is being performed in The Netherlands. Read more about the research and the work ‘(the Act of) Uprooting’ on the exhibition page.
LIVE PERFORMANCE LAUNCH IN INDONESIA
The performance launch took place after a month-long research period in Solo, Central-Java, Indonesia as artist in resident at Melati Suryodarmo’s Studio Plesungan in 2023. See a selection of photos below. Here, Ros kicked-off with her current research into (her) unfamiliar roots and the relation to the identification process. She is now working on phase three of My Self, the (Unfamiliar) Roots.
The site-specific installation, the circle, which was created above the surface during the live performance launch of ‘(the Act of) Uprooting’ in Solo, Central-Java in 2023 is now continued, locally constructed and rebuild in the garden of the Luther Museum in Amsterdam in 2024.
LIVE PERFORMANCE DEBUT IN THE NETHERLANDS
The four-hour-long live performance is a profound and personal journey, centered on the themes of rooting and uprooting. ‘Uprooting’ refers to the act of moving something or someone from their original environment, evoking feelings of loss and helplessness. The work is inspired by Ros’s grandfather, who was born in Surabaya in 1916 and had to move to The Netherlands in 1926. On Dutch ground, Ros continues to dig deeper, exploring her personal and historical connection to Amsterdam, the city where her mother was born and raised and where she herself now lives and works.
In the museum’s linen room, a video work and an object related to ‘(the Act of) Uprooting’ are on display, from the performance and research earlier in Indonesia. Also featured is the batu bata brick Ros made in Bandung from Javanese clay soil—handmade and sun-dried. Notable in this work are the artist’s extracted hairs, the personal material Lisette works with during the performance. The act of pulling out strands of hair, including their roots, is part of her physical and performative research method. It is an approach to suffering and endurance, merging Lisette’s nature with that of the location, while seeking connection with her unknown roots.
© Photos Indonesia by Angga Baktif
© Photos The Netherlands by Victor Wennekes
© Kindly supported by Mondriaan Fonds, Erasmus Huis Jakarta, Studio Plesungan, Luther Museum and Cultuurfonds
© Lisette Ros