{"product_id":"publicatie-what-knots-knot-knots","title":"What Knots Know Knots","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003c!--en--\u003e\u003ch4 class=\"a-h6 o-editor-content\"\u003e\n\u003c!--en--\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat Knots Knot Knots \u003c\/i\u003eis a Noorderlicht initiative, developed in collaboration with archive and cultural institutions in the Northern Netherlands. \u003ci\u003eWhat Knots Knot Knots\u003c\/i\u003e will be on display from June 26, 2026, at \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/noorderlicht.com\/zien-en-doen\/wkkk-2\/friesland-wkkk\"\u003eVHDG in Leeuwarden\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/noorderlicht.com\/zien-en-doen\/wkkk-2\/drenthe-wkkk\"\u003eWesterbork Camp Memorial Centre\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/noorderlicht.com\/zien-en-doen\/wkkk-2\/drenthe-wkkk-2\"\u003eDIEP\u003c\/a\u003e in Drenthe, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/noorderlicht.com\/zien-en-doen\/wkkk-2\/groningen-wkkk\"\u003eGroninger Museum (Wall House#2 location)\u003c\/a\u003e and Noorderlicht in Groningen.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003c!--en--\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c!--en--\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003c!--en--\u003e\u003cp class=\"a-h4 u-mb-2\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUntold past\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Northern Netherlands has its own colonial past, but little is said about it. Yet there are many interconnected stories from Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe. In the seventeenth century, Frisian universities and cartographers worked for the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the Dutch West India Company (WIC). Ships from Groningen sailed to Ghana to trade enslaved people. In the eighteenth century, Jan Albert Sichterman, VOC director in Bengal, lived in Groningen. He made a lot of money and used it to build a large house on the Ossenmarkt. He also collected many objects. Part of his collection can still be seen in the Groninger Museum. In the twentieth century, Moluccan KNIL soldiers and their families came to the former Westerbork camp. Migrant workers also came to Friesland to work in agriculture and industry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c!--en--\u003e\u003cp class=\"a-h4 u-mb-2\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArt as a way to make stories visible\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eArchives do not preserve everything. Some stories disappear or remain unknown. Artists look at archives differently than historians. They ask questions about what is and isn't preserved and connect stories in new ways. The eight artists conducted research in local archives and spoke with people from the area. For the project, they created photography, videos, installations, and a large mural. Each artwork is connected to a specific place and community. The works make difficult and often hidden stories visible and discussable.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c!--en--\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003c!--en--\u003e\u003cp class=\"a-h4 u-mb-2\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat Knots Knot Knots\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe title \u003ci\u003eWhat Knots Knot Knots\u003c\/i\u003e comes from a statement by Donna Haraway: \"it matters what knots knot knots.\"¹ By this, she means that the way you connect things determines which story you can tell. Therefore, the project does not tell one grand story about the colonial past. Instead, it presents various local stories from multiple centuries side by side. This clarifies how these histories are interconnected.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!--en--\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"a-h6 o-editor-content\"\u003e\n\u003c!--en--\u003e\u003cp\u003eNoorderlicht developed this project because it is important to bring attention to this history in the Northern Netherlands as well. The project also marks the beginning of a longer collaboration between organizations in Groningen, Drenthe, and Friesland to further investigate and visualize this past.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e¹ Donna J. Haraway, \u003ci\u003eStaying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene\u003c\/i\u003e (Durham: Duke University Press, 2016), 12: \"It matters what matters we use to think other matters with; it matters what stories we tell to tell other stories with; it matters \u003cstrong\u003ewhat knots knot knots\u003c\/strong\u003e, what thoughts think thoughts, what descriptions describe descriptions, what ties tie ties.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!--en--\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!--en--\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Noorderlicht","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59286954410329,"sku":null,"price":12.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0370\/5510\/3116\/files\/MockupWhatKnotsKnotKnots.png?v=1788439567","url":"https:\/\/noorderlicht-platform-voor-fotografie.myshopify.com\/en\/products\/publicatie-what-knots-knot-knots","provider":"Noorderlicht","version":"1.0","type":"link"}