Blurry Memories, Corridor Conversations And Boxed Obsolete Media: A Research Space

To make the freshly uncovered narrative tangible, Jimmy constructed a physical space to house the material he had collected – a research office – at the very same institution that had concealed its prehistory in its attic.

Open to the public on two days in late June of 2019, and later, by appointment, visitors to this fictional research space were encouraged to move laterally and intimately through the history of experimental theatre in Amsterdam. With the aim of questioning the linearity of official stories, the immersive installation exposed the scribbles, the side notes of the past, bringing new voices forward in the matrix and offering up ghosts in the round. Marginalia, scraps, and gossip sat beside archival documents.

While the 20 videotapes were never discovered, a previously unseen and complex picture emerged.

Jimmy Grima in conversation with Sergej Pristas, Marijke Hoogenboom, Juul Beeren, Corine Snijders, Andrea Božić, T J Etchells,  John Meijerink, Jan Zoet, Maria Antoinette Reuter.  With the kind assistance of Matar Pershitz, Ruth Borg, Michael Grima and Ira Melkonyan. Artistic advisor Sara Giannini Conversation partner Florian Malzacher photos Thomas Lenden