“What thoughts go around in your mind to justify the theft of our baby?”
Manuwi's art is deeply intertwined with the Surinamese Kalinya Terewuyu community, which she is a member of. She was invited to comment on the theme of ancestry. As an artist, Manuwi focuses on care and recovery. Together with people from her community in both the Netherlands and Suriname, she searched for the most pressing issue within this context. She ended up not with an object from Our Colonial Legacy, but with a baby missed by the community and suspected to be in the museum’s depot. In a poignant performance, she calls for the baby’s return.
Manuwi: “When you have nothing to lose, a freedom arises to ask questions and the courage to answer them honestly. We are beyond deprivation, aversion and beauty and our only humble desire is the truth. We were invited to speak about our ancestors and we have accepted the invitation.”
