IJsgevangene – ice prisoner is an installation; a sort of walk-in-closet. Photographs on glass and a soundscape surrounded by darkness.
(p)Art Team of de IJsgevangene – Ice Prisoner
- Petra-Puk: idea, photography, soundscape arrangement
- Patrick Bruggeman: text
- Carmella Borgh: soundscape arrangement
- Thijs van Wijck: voice actor
- Ester Rademaker: wooden installation
Petra-Puk was baffled to hear people say that refugees were not welcome in the Netherlands. She has travelled a lot and lived abroad simply because she was curious about different countries and cultures. There was no need… she was perfectly safe in the Netherlands.
Questioning herself: “I am allowed to emigrate, but someone in danger is not allowed to escape the horrors of his or her country. Do people realise the hypocrisy, the injustice of the cold and negative attitude towards refugees?”
The frozen polaroids
An other subject that shook her, was child abuse. When it was finally uncovered that in a small village in the Netherlands children were abused for years. A couple of villagers said: “We’ve always been suspicious…”, when interviewed about the case.
The artist remembered someone saying that it doesn’t only take a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to abuse a child* . Imagine to be one of the abused children, now an adult hearing someone say “we’ve always been suspicious…”. However, no-one took action. *Quote from Boston lawyer Mitchell Garabedian who represents victims and survivors of sexual abuse: “If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse one “
De IJsgevangene or Ice Prisoner is a multi disciplinary art installation. The installation challenges the audience to think about our personal view, thoughts and feelings towards others.