Also available:
60x45 cm
Edition of 7 & 2 AP
120x90 cm
Edition of 5 & 2 AP
Ilona Langbroek’s personal series “Silent Loss” is based on her family’s history in the former Dutch East Indies. The Netherlands has a long history with the Dutch East Indies, which leaves all kinds of traces that are reminiscent of the vast but also complex colonial past between these two countries. In fact, her work is about the lost identity of the large number of people who were forced to leave their country after the Independence and their emotions regarding this loss which are dormant but still very much alive.
Her artwork is not just about aesthetics, but there is a deeper meaning behind the image, the story and the emotion contained within. From that point of view, Langbroek shoots purely intuitively based upon her memories of her grandmother in the past: how she looked, her accent and tone of her voice. In addition, research is an important part of her work to find inspiration. By reading books, interviewing people from previous generations and scrutinizing old photo albums Langbroek gets closer to the life of her grandparents in the Dutch East Indies. Furthermore, her concepts are refined and elaborated in detail, in search of the right items, models, locations and clothing which are partly original antiques but were also specifically handmade based on her own ideas and designs.