Exhibition | Between a Dance and Sitting in a Chair | Sharelly Emanuelson
October 3 - November 24
In the exhibition ‘Between a Dance and Sitting in a Chair‘, KITLV researcher Sharelly Emanuelson reflects on the Caribbean’s spirit of life – the warmth and cheerful island feeling. At the same time, she exposes the underlying layer of the consequences of colonialism on the islands, effects that continue to reverberate to the present. She shows this through themes such as language, ecology, dance or movement, education, poverty, trade and tourism. She also showcases the visual anthropology component of her PhD research within the KITLV/Island(er)s at the Helm program in this exhibition and reflects on the tension that arises in ‘ways of knowing’ as an artist and academic researcher.
‘Between a Dance and Sitting in a Chair’ (3 October–24 November 2024, CBK Zuidoost, location SHEBANG, Amsterdam) is Sharelly Emanuelson’ first mid-career solo exhibition. Between a ‘Dance and Sitting in a Chair’ is both the title of her latest work and an overview of her oeuvre. Through her work, she captures the essence of Caribbean life— the warmth and joyful island vibe—while simultaneously revealing the underlying impacts of colonialism on the islands, effects that persist to this day. The exhibition showcases Emanuelson’s evolution from a documentary maker to a versatile and autonomous artist, and explores themes such as language, ecology, dance or movement, education, poverty, trade, and tourism.