For images of Some Things Hidden part 2 (2018), please scroll down.

2017 - 2018

Graphics above by Atelier Roosje Klap all other images © Charlott Markus unless otherwise stated.

Some Things Hidden was an exhibition project about hiding and the hidden, and about the politics of (in)visibility and what's hidden in plain sight. It departed from a long term artistic research project by artist Charlott Markus that goes under the working title Markus&I, which took its starting point in Markus’ own family history. Some Things Hidden was the second public chapter in the Markus&I project. (First public chapter was the exhibition Some Things Perishable; presented in Nest, den Hague 2014).

The project visualized itself in two different kinds of exhibitions. The first part (18 to 26 November, 2017) as a more performative, smaller version where emphasis was placed on new performances and in-situ works, presented in the original studio of Gisèle, artist and founder of Castrum Peregrini. The second part (19 January to 11 March, 2018) at Framer Framed was a bigger group exhibition where the performances got a physical form and further spatial works, video installations and photography completed the exhibition.

Both parts consisted of a selected combination of existing and new works by upcoming and internationally renowned artists of different generations.

Participating artists in Some Things Hidden part 2: Hélène Amouzou, Alexis Blake, Sara Blokland, Zhana Ivanova, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Bertien van Manen, Charlott Markus, Shana Moulton, Femmy Otten, Marijn Ottenhof, Cauleen Smith and Batia Suter.

The exhibition project Some Things Hidden is initiated and curated by Charlott Markus, with the help of co-curator Nina Folkersma, and has been realized thanks to a collaboration between Castrum Peregrini and Framer Framed, within the Castrum Peregrini year program for 2017 ‘The Female Perspective’ curated by Nina Folkersma.

The project was made possible with the kind support of the Mondriaan fund, Amsterdam fonds voor de Kunst, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture & Science and Tolhuistuin. Thank you!

At both venues we organized public programs. A condensed mention of these for part 2 you can see here below. For more info regarding this check out the News/Archive section.

For the two months in Framer Framed, next to many private guided tours (honourably also for the minister of culture) and visits of schools and academies, the public program was as follows: 18 January - Opening with speeches by Charlott Markus, Nina Folkersma and Josien Pieterse. February 11 - Anthology of Anger performance by Alexis Blake. February 18 - Public tour by Nina Folkersma. February 20 - Film screening of ‘Herengracht 401’ followed by a conversation with filmmaker Janina Pigaht, Frans Damman (Castrum Peregrini) and Josien Pieterse (Framer Framed). March 4 - Public tour by artist Charlott Markus. March 11 - Finissage that featured special guests - artists Lynn Hershman Leeson & Hélène Amouzou. The Finissage started with a public tour by Charlott Markus joined by Hélène Amouzou and was followed by an artist talk with Lynn Hershman Leeson moderated by Nina Folkersma.

In the one-off magazine ‘The Female Perspective’ published by Castrum Peregrini and edited in collaboration with Nina Folkersma and Mister Motley (Editor in chief Lieneke Hulshof) you can find that the second part of the magazine is solely dedicated to Some Things Hidden, forming the catalogue and exhibition guide to the exhibition project. The Some Things Hidden part of the magazine is focused on the exhibition concept and the participating artists, with texts based on interviews by Lietje Bauwens.

All graphics for Some Things Hidden was made by Atelier Roosje Klap, which also designed the magazine and the catalogue.

Important note: On Thursday 22 February 2018, during the time of the Some Things Hidden exhibition at Framer Framed the Dutch magazine Vrij Nederland published an article titled Misbruik in naam van het hogere. The piece reveals a history of structural and systematic abuse within the past of the organisation of Castrum Peregrini, one of the main collaborator with the Some Things Hidden project. I (Charlott Markus) initially had a dialogue with Castrum Peregrini about this particular project in belief that it had been a safe house, saving the lives of Jews and intellectuals during the Second World War. Being a safe house made it the perfect place for my project. It turns out that at the time of the war and for decades ahead, up into the 80’s, other motives have been involved and the organization itself turned out to have been a nightmare for many and not at all the safe haven that I experienced it to be when starting my collaboration in 2016. It is necessary that hidden stories like these comes up to the surface and are being dealt with in public and it was nothing less then a shock when something like this resurfaced when being totally submerged with a personal project titled and dealing with the ‘Some Things Hidden’.

It is of utmost importance that stories like these come out into plain sight and, instead of being hidden, can be confronted and dealt with in a safe, compassionate and transparent way.

Please read HERE the statement that I, my co-curator and the other organization involved wrote in regards to this traumatic history.

Images from the exhibition in Framer Framed here below (you can see images and info regarding Some Things Hidden Part 1 HERE.)