Shadow Play

A tryptich on power relations, representation and the long shadow cast by history

Shadow Play is the artistic result of two years of research into the copies of the famous painting ‘The Surrender of Breda’ by Diego Velázquez, and the semi-public spaces where these can be found in Breda. The point of departure for this project is the idea that the context determines the meaning of a work of art. The original, for example, which hangs in the Prado Museum in Madrid, celebrates the glorious victory of the Spanish during the siege of Breda. In the Stedelijk Museum Breda, however, this ‘defeat’ does not prevent this painting from being used as the centerpiece in an exhibition about the grandeur of the royal Orange-Nassau family. And at the city hall of Breda, the canvas serves as an everyday backdrop for countless wedding photos.

The video installation shows the different copies of the painting next to each other, paying particular attention to the situations that take place around or before them. For example, in the museum, curators carefully hang Kees Maks’ 1903 canvas in its place, while in the city hall, students from the St. Joost School of Art & Design stage a squatters’ demonstration from the 1970s in front of Fernando Coll’s 1929 copy. Diplomats from the Dutch Embassy in Madrid pose in front of the original from 1634 at the Prado Museum, and at the military academy, uniformed cadets stand to attention in front of André-Julien Prévost’s 1872 painting.Sound artist Roel Meelkop composed a soundtrack for the videos, which accentuates or distorts the acoustics of the various spaces in which they were filmed, thereby emphasizing the distance between audience and the images.

Shadow Play blends past and present, watching and being watched, and offers the opportunity for new interpretations of Velázquez’s age-old war scene.

This project was made possible during a research residency at Witte Rook, and thanks to contributions from the Municipality of Breda, Mondriaan Fund, Dutch Embassy in Spain, Instituto Cervantes. With thanks to Stedelijk Museum Breda, Prado Museum Madrid, St. Joost School of Art & Design, The Royal Military Academy and the Breda City Archives.