COLLECTIVE DAS LEBEN AM HAVERKAMP

ZEEUWS MUSEUM X DAS LEBEN AM HAVERKAMP

In the early Summer of 2017, the Zeeuws Museum, as instructed by Das Leben am Haverkamp, invites 40 visitors to give a description of 40 randomly selected objects of the museum’s collection. You are welcome to join us for the big opening on 17 February 2018!

17 February 2018 – 10 June 2019

campaign in collaboration with Studio Lennart & De Bruijn

In the early Summer of 2017, the Zeeuws Museum, as instructed by Das Leben am Haverkamp, invites 40 visitors to give a description of 40 randomly selected objects of the museum’s collection out of storage. Objects in the storage rooms are anonymous, without judgment, without a story. It is that anonymity that appeals to the imagination. The subjective descriptions of regional costume, jewellery and household goods induced us to develop a new collec­tion without ever having seen the objects described.

With this method and our collection Das Leben am Haverkamp aims to create a bridge between past and future, between knowing and fantasizing, between the image of yourself and that of the other.

Volkskrant described it as one of the cultural highlights of 2018. Glamcult said to go see this with your own eyes – “The journey is worth it”. Read about what i-D Vice and VPRO Nooit Meer Slapen had to say about it.


Zeeuws Museum
Abdij, Middelburg (NL)

photography: Presstigieux and Natasja Martens

Here is a selection of the 60 objects that we made for Zeeuws Museum x Das Leben am Haverkamp, starting with the transcriptions given to us.

Each of us worked in a specific color.
Christa van der Meer: pink, Anouk van Klaveren: petrol, Dewi Bekker: yellow, Gino Anthonisse: red

visitor 36, object 35: "... I have no idea what it is ... but I do rather like it .... the delicate wire work."
visitor 20, object 19: "This object eh ... evokes memories of eh old movies .. eh .. some of them dating from the .. eh ... from the time of western movies .. with a big circus somewhere out there on the prairies ... ehhh .. a large tent .. children walking in, dark on the inside, they pick up a seat, sit down ... eh .. then the most beautiful and most beautiful images pass by ... Oriental eh European and you name it."
visitor 15, object 14: "I see reed .. but not just any reed .. reed in which you can put something and with which you can travel and I see a ... good looking woman farmer from Zeeland before me .. who takes it with her on a journey, but where does she go and what does she have in it?"
visitor 22, object 21: "These objects remind me of my father .. ehm he also had a few of these objects placed near the sofa ... for his own comfort for in the evenings ... eh yes they are made of leather .. and .. they seem to be very comfortable and easy to use and used a lot."
visitor 11, object 10 "The object that is on the table in front of me is a true example of ... simplicity, something that canbe used in daily life ... very simple material ... but still, because a woman is a woman you make itinto something more .. you do ... something extra, beautiful lace ... just to give that feeling that ...even if it is an all .. everyday object that you use, what you wear garment gives you a kind .. of feelingof beauty, nobody probably sees it, it's probably hidden under a lot of layers .. of clothing ... but I canimagine that as a woman you wear it and in doing so you feel very good ... finely woven linen Iguess ... and .. general use ... yes, I think even now it can still be worn like this."
visitor 6, object 6: "I can see something that looks like an adornment ... what a person can wear ... to smarten it up .. it will probably have something to do with .. religion eh eh .. it has a great lot of details ranging from from large to small .. and there is also eh precious metal in it eh ... I think it is very old but I'm not sure about that ... there are some tiny details that you would really like to have a closer look at ... and it's a a nice colour."
visitor 8, object 8: "I can see eh eh an object that is so bizarre and eclectic that I couldn't possibly place it. I think it's a eh completely coincidental combination of Chinese eh Chinese-like European Asian .. eh fantasies ehm ... an item of chinoiserie that eh in .. its .. complete weirdness surpasses every other object in the eh at the fancy fair .. it would do nicely in the shooting gallery .. yes."
visitor 22, object 22: "With this eh object I notice that eh on the .. yeah that it's a kind of little garment perhaps for children because if I picture it like that on the right shoulder it has some clamps with which to eh fasten and loosen it, so I can imagine that it yeah has the function of some kind of bib bib-like .. something .. a protective piece of clothing .. nice colours."
visitor 25, object 25: "Eh ... I do not know it ... couldn't really tell what it is .... if you can wear it or .... never seen before ......... maybe eh from the time .. of your grandmother or so that she wears back then or so buttah ... huwè .. I've never actually seen it, so."
visitor 26, object 26: "Yes I see a large object in front of me .. eh .. it seems something to wear eh .. a special kind of fabric .. it looks to have some kind of feathers or leaves on it .. eh it reminds me a bit of the crop tops of today .. but then eh .. from the past .. eh it also seems to originate from this region .. and eh typically regional costume I think."
... ehm a little mould that needs something in it because I see a little hinge and a handle, it would have been hot ah .. gingerbread cookies .. maybe a little mould for an artwork something ... from Zeeland .. metal I think ... I cannot see very well, there's a human figure inside and ... I'm curious to know what should come out if 't ehm ... when it would be finished."
visitor 39, object 37: "Well what I see is a ... I think it's a piece of clothing ... but ... [talks unintelligible outside of the microphone] oh for that it is extremely tiny so it won't be that kind of thing .. oh god what it is that is a mystery to me what beautiful borders ... ha bib haha but no that's not it as well ... oh dear ... it is something that you tie around ... I don't know ... a garment, that's all I know."
visitor 6, object 8: "I see a a somewhat wonderfully object with lots of details ... you have to look at it closely as to also be able to see the details to see them well .. it it seems a bit oriental .... it has a lot of eh holes ... it it it's high .. it seems to be made from metal, but I think it's been mainly painted ... so it does not have to be metal ... it has a golden ... yeah appearance."
visitor 23, object 21: "It reminds me of an object that is worn very often, is still worn or at least is used ... uh ... by all sorts of people, you come across this in all kinds of cultures, it's a really a very favourite .. footwear I would directly dare to "
visitor 21, object 23: "To me this object too looks as if it's ... quite old ... and it also looks to me as if it has been lying on the bottom of the sea for a long time and as if it may have been pottery .. and I wonder who used it and indeed how long ago that was."
visitor 17, object 18: "... ffft .. it also looks nice and warm .. ehmm .. and it's something to put on your head I think .. ehm .. it has a nice texture especially when it snows or when it's cold outside .. ehmm .. and .. it's got all kinds of small things hanging from it that make it look a bit flouncy .. the colours are a bit brighter ehm .. bright pink and and combined with the blue .. and I think that it rather belonged to a child eh .. than to an adult .. so rather for a girl .. ehm .. I used to wear this too as a small child .. ehm .. and the nice thing about it is that it not only covers your head but also your neck .. so I think you're well protected against against rain and wind .. ehm .. yeah"
visitor 25, object 26: "Ehm ... yes ... you don't see this as much anymore ... maybe that eh .. at the time of grandfather and grandmother .. they were then worn .... and .. my mother never wears such a thing ... it is kind of special .. to wear I think too .... strangely coloured fabric ... with a collar ... no buttons no nothing attached ... but really special"
visitor 32, object 29: "Yes it does look like something you will not encounter in a museum every day .. it's far more likely to be something for at home ... and if it's old or not I do not know, it could just as well be bought directly from IKEA now"
visitor 39, object 40: "A cloak, an .. old-fashioned hoodie as you can imagine .. a burka .. hihi .. look, that's what we looked like in the past and now everyone considers eh that to be a problem .. maybe it is just the facial cover that is lacking here but maybe there was some of that too a veil I can see something .. what I very much recognise nowadays on the street and what we too used to have here .. concealing, you can place a whole bomb belt under underneath .. but I don't think they had those at that time haha"





photography by Anda van Riet, Mieke Wijnen and Janne van Gilst