Juul Hondius

An interview by Ruben Jacobs for Mister Motley magazine

Due to climate change and an accumulation of crises, our planet is becoming an increasingly inhospitable place. Consequently, the question of who can remain living somewhere and who is forced to move on constantly echoes in the background. The film installation Tidal Settlers by Juul Hondius, which is part of the art program of Into The Great Wide Open and can be seen there from 27 to 30 August, zooms in on this question. Ruben Jacobs spoke with Juul and with Montaser Alsabe and Abed Hussein, who became co-creators during the process. ‘Those who have to fend for themselves, leave. It is that simple.’

Five different screens are set up in a dark space. On those screens, we see scenes of a number of people trying to make their way through a tidal landscape of ebb and flow. Their names, backgrounds, and origins remain unknown. The horizon is endless, a point of reference is missing. That these people are surviving is immediately clear. With wood, plastic, rope, and other found materials, they build rafts and small boats to brave the ever-rising water. There is barely any solid ground; everything is constantly in motion.

In Tidal Settlers, humans seem to have to adapt to a world where home is increasingly slipping out of view. Not a distant, fictional future, but a reality that comes strikingly close. The rising water can be read not only as a reference to climate change, but also as a metaphor for the many crises that force people today to leave their familiar surroundings: war, conflict, political instability. The question of who can stay and who is forced to move on, therefore, constantly echoes in the background.

It evokes an oppressive feeling. As a viewer, just like the refugees depicted, you are placed right in the middle of the situation and can hardly escape the question: how would I react if I found myself in these circumstances? The sea is an important entry point. As a force of nature familiar to many Dutch people, Juul Hondius believes it can help bring the audience closer to the experience of displacement.

But how do you tell a story about refugees without reducing them to numbers, victims, or stereotypes, but showing them as people like anyone else? How can you, as a creator, evoke a sense of displacement?

continue reading by clicking this link >