Teduki Nobo

Teduki Nobo is an interactive installation that will be shown at the CBK Zuidoost Exhibition “Crossing Cultures”.

The ‘Teduki’ is an old patchwork tradition in the old days on Curaçao and is the Caribbean variant of quilt (in the west). Made by hand, using recycled fabrics, they were predominantly made to resemble the Dutch tea cloth (theedoek) and were used to wrap up a pan with food for transport. The work ”Teduki” speaks of a tradition of appropriation and reinvention. A loss of collective memory, since countless traditions were never documented properly or passed down. This hand stitched Teduki in the form of the Netherlands Antillean flag is a documentation of a flag that will too remain in some of our memories. Since 10-10-10 the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved, and the flag ceased to exist. For this work Emanuelson started with only blue fabric and the color, red and white was achieved by treating the blue cloth with chlorine. During the exhibition the audience will be asked to continue to spary clorine on the “Teduki Nobo”, to participate is the act of erasure by making it “anew”. Alluding to the Curacaoan obsession of starting anew, being modern, civil and not investigating or being aware of their history and social economic development. The pictures of the installation will be available at the end of the exhibition in May 2020.