Interview with Michelle Piergoelam
by Kim Knoppers

Michelle Piergoelam: 'When I went on a field trip to Serbia during the second year of the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, we were free to choose and depict a subject. I quickly came up with fairy tales and myths and came across a Serbian version of Cinderella. This story has the same main lines as the Dutch version, but it also contains cultural elements that belong to Serbia and its inhabitants. Back in the Netherlands, I realised that I myself come from a culture that I know nothing about.'

'I am Surinamese-Hindustani but knew nothing about Surinamese culture. My parents came to the Netherlands at a young age with independence (1975). At home they did not talk about their origins. I knew about my Surinamese roots and that I have a different skin color, but it remained in the background. In 2019, I made the series 'The Story of a Surinamese Fairy Tale' based on a Surinamese fairy tale. I Heard Water Holds a Secret, created. The story was about a girl who secretly went to the water, despite her parents' prohibition. There she met a water spirit who took her away, after which she became a mermaid. In reality: she drowned. My own drowning experience touched me and made me realize that fairy tales are often based on truth. This increased my interest in myths.'

'For my graduation I studied the spider Anansi, known to Surinamese people but I knew nothing about it. There appeared to be a relationship with slavery, where the stories about the spider Anansi were used as code language. This led to the first part of The Untangled Tales origin: fairy tales, Surinamese culture, and the realization that there is so much more behind those stories. At the same time, I visited an exhibition about Surinamese traditional clothing, including the koto and angisa, and The Great Suriname Exhibition (2019) in De Nieuwe Kerk. This brought me into contact with experts such as Anansi expert Wijnand Stomp and koto & angisa expert Jane Stjeward-Schubert.'

The second part of The Untangled Tales, Songs in a Strange Land, focuses on the work songs that enslaved people sang during their hard labor. To the rhythm of oars, they exchanged messages through these songs, unnoticed by the slave owners. The lyrics reflected their lives in slavery and the misconduct of plantation owners. I made the first two parts in the Netherlands, close to home in Rotterdam, but for the third part, Fourteen Leaves and a Cup of Water, I wanted to go to Suriname with my family.'

'In Fourteen Leaves and a Cup of Water I focus on the plants that enslaved and indigenous peoples used during and after slavery in the eighteenth century. With a guide, I went into the interior of Suriname, including Para, an area that used to be full of plantations. Shaman Amasina Oedemmaloe taught me about the recovery of the forest after the plantations. He helped me find plants, including tobacco, and I captured the silent, meaningful moment while he collected bark for his medicines.'

'When we were out and about my guide said, “You look and I see.” That doesn't just apply to me, but I think it also applies to people who The Untangled Tales to look. It starts with looking and then with understanding what lies hidden beneath the surface.'

'I am often asked if I am an activist and if I want to lead a movement with my work, but that is not how I see myself. The images I make seduce through their aesthetics, but contain multiple layers that invite reflection or further discovery. An image that directly and confrontationally refers to slavery can scare people off because of the pain, confrontation or shame. That is why I create spherical images and play with the illusion of the camera to approach this. With The Untangled Tales I show the colonial past from the perspective of the enslaved. It is not just about suffering, but about the strength and hope that is contained in cultural expressions.'

'Inspired by the tobacco filling machine (1762) of the Haarlemse tabakshandel De Gouden Kroon, from the museum's collection, I went in search of the tobacco plant in Suriname and its significance for the indigenous population, rather than for the colonizer. An important source was the diary of the Swedish botanist Daniel Rolander, who visited Suriname in the eighteenth century. He described how the indigenous people shared their plant knowledge with escaped slaves. Tobacco plants were used in rituals and as medicine. I wanted to investigate this knowledge further with the help of my guides and the shaman.'

'For each project I look for partners who want to share their knowledge, which gives my work meaning through existing stories and underexposed cultures. In return I try to give something back. Together with Jane Stjeward-Schubert and Ella Broek I founded the foundation Tailors & Wearers, which researches Afro-Surinamese costumes from the perspective of craftsmanship, anthropology and photography. I also hope to contribute to the recording of oral knowledge, such as plant knowledge.