The Warp and Weft of History

About

Looiersgracht 60 is pleased to present ‘The Warp and Weft of History’, a major solo exhibition of the work of Amsterdam-based artist, Kristina Benjocki. The show includes a comprehensive look at Benjocki’s research-driven practice encompassing existing and new works ranging from textile, multi-media installations and a site-specific wall drawing. The exhibition also includes a new film installation made in collaboration with Stijn Verhoeff.

With the ‘Warp and Weft of History’, Benjocki invites us to engage with the fluidity and fragility of memory and its influence on politics and culture. More important than ever in times like these, with ongoing wars, Benjocki’s works While the Pile of Rubble GrowsTowards the Sky’(2023),‘Sedimentation of Memory’ (2017) and ‘Tableaux VI-VII, La composition’ (2022), show the importance of researching forgotten historical narratives, examining the politics of remembering and our social constructions of the past.

Following the arcs of history and exhuming past narratives, Benjocki’s in-depth research has led her to private archives and intimate conversations with those engaged with certain places in history. One such place is the enigmatic ‘mountain’ of Cannerberg, a former limestone quarry situated on the border of the Netherlands and Belgium. The tunnels, first carved for limestone extraction, have been repeatedly redefined throughout history. Cannerberg in particular has held grounds for many covert operations such as German arms production in WWII and the NATO headquarters during the Cold War. Beginning with her time in residence at the Jan van Eyck Academy, Benjocki has spent years of rigorous research into the aggregated geological and political history of Cannerberg. Exploring the shifting narratives, motivations, and memories of those who have spent considerable time in the space, Benjocki has translated these stories into an intimate and meticulous body of work.

In Looiersgracht 60’s basement gallery, Benjocki presents the newly completed, ‘While the Pile of Rubble Grows Towards the Sky’(2023), a two-channel film installation born from collaboration with writer and filmmaker, Stijn Verhoeff. Using the format of a video essay, the work dives into the extensive expanse of Cannerberg's history. Meticulously tracing the genesis of this place, from its ancient and sea-born limestone layers to its recent history as grounds for advanced military activity, Benjocki and Verhoeff look into how much of history is inscribed into the material it is made from. While the societal inclination might be to sweep away the sedimentation of these histories, Benjocki and Verhoeff carefully collect and illuminate them, giving them new life and endurance.

In another gallery space ‘Sedimentation of Memory’ (2017), unpacks the Cold War period of Cannerberg’s history. A synchronized installation of 5 Kodak carousel slide projectors, showcases 400 drawings projected onto carefully manipulated and worn limestone blocks. These drawings are based on former NATO personnel’s private archives and presented in combination with visual inserts found in the historic archives of Limburg. By representing personal archives that were once classified, Benjocki brings new light to stories that were meant to be forgotten. Etching indelibly into the limestone as well as onto the slide film, Benjocki projects her own inquiry on the recollection of memory and history. What is held static and what can be redrawn and represented? Where is power located in therecalling of the past and how does its retelling reshape that dynamic?

Born in Zrenjanin, Former Yugoslavia, a city known for its tradition in textile and rug making, Benjocki has long been surrounded by the influence and embedded knowledge of woven culture. Her work continues to emphasize the importance of textiles as ephemeral surfaces that shape civilization and hold the history and narratives of society. By tracing these threads of history, she discredits the tendency to subordinate textile practices and instead asserts their structural significance in human history.

Throughout Looiersgracht 60’s main gallery space Benjocki presents ‘Tableaux VI-VII, La composition’ (2022), a large-scale installation of two-sided textile works draped over site-specific metal frameworks. The installation is completely handwoven by the artist and an investigation into the language, patterns, and systems of weaving. The graphic black and white compositions of the tapestries are based on Pirot Kilims, a Serbian rug weaving tradition that predates the Islamic-Ottoman rule in the Balkans and later used in building of a post-communist national identity. Pirot Kilim weaving remains a significant cultural reminder of a time before the 500 years of Ottoman rule over Serbia; the patterns are incorporated into a vast array of National visual communication, including political material, advertisement, religious or mythic iconography, and corporate logos. Tracing the construction upon which the symbols were arranged in the Pirot Kilim, ‘Tableaux VI-VII, La Composition’ examines the direct relationship between textile, colonization, migration, myth making and political power.

With a rigorous and interdisciplinary approach, Benjocki creates immersive installations that deepen her viewers’ understanding of historical complexity. Uncovering the limitations of archaeology and its impact on history, she explores the biases of the archive and the often-overlooked political and technological significance of perishable material.