Forms of Representation and Protest: Compromiso Político by Matthijs De Bruijne
IN CONVERSATION WITH LEANA BOVEN
Exhibition in BAK Utrecht. Also featuring works by Jeremy Deller, Piero Gilardi, and Mierle Laderman Ukeles. On display from the 10th of February until the 15th of April 2018. This exhibition is part of the larger exhibition ‘Propositions for Non-Fascist Living.’
Compromiso Político in BAK is offering a critical approach to current issues in the Netherlands regarding workers’ rights. In this exhibition Matthijs de Bruijne, a visual artist who is well known for his political art, connects social struggles with art and illustrates the potential of artistic interventions for the cause of greater representation of domestic workers and cleaners (who often have a migrant background). De Bruijne challenges the borders of the art field with his incorporation of political statements in the form of photographs and hand-written notes calling for better working conditions. By working together with social movements and the Union of Cleaners which is part of the Dutch Trade Union Federation (FNV), De Bruijne dedicates himself to connecting political organizing to more artistic forms of representation and protest.
The title of the exhibition Compromiso Político “proposes to circumvent the English-language idiom “socially engaged art” and the compromises that it often ends up with when such art circulates languages and forms of social struggle almost exclusively in the realm of the artistic canon. Compromiso, in Spanish, means a commitment and obligation; a commitment to both politics and art. De Bruijne explains, “a compromiso político is a way of acting toward the same political goal and working together as part of both the movement and the institution of art.” It is quite opposed to the vrijblijvendheid of socially engaged art, as De Bruijne continues, in which “vrij means free and blijvend means to stay: to stay free, to stay loose; without obligation” (website BAK).
This exhibition created by Matthijs de Bruijne is a strong example of how art can be used as a form of resistance by claiming space in an art institution to provide the audience with insights on the condition of domestic workers and cleaners. The potent political impact of art to intervene becomes clear in this exhibition: De Bruijne creates space for stories about dire working conditions and mistreatment of domestic workers and cleaners and makes these stories available for an audience that would otherwise probably not hear about those issues. In this way the position of domestic workers and cleaners in the Netherland, which is one of exclusion and subordination, is at least addressed. Different ways of thinking about social relations and criticizing economic inequality and discrimination come together in the exhibition space in BAK.
In a talk called Museum of the People at the New World Academy #1 De Bruijne argues that the artist should connect its art to social organizations, listen to workers and feel the need to change society. De Bruijne also states that – quoting Mao Zedong – displaying an art show in “petty bourgeois” occasions has its limits, so the artist should be well aware of the art institutions it wants to collaborate with. De Bruijne’s Compromiso Político challenges the audience to think differently about societal issues, and brings up questions such as who has permission to speak and who has not? Why is it that only through gaining visibility in an art institution people get to know about the working and living conditions of domestic workers and cleaners? How can social affect be transformed into political effectiveness? De Bruijne’s art in this way becomes a space for social reflection and thought. In contemporary society collaborations between the workers’ union and artists are unique, and a visit to BAK is therefore recommended. The exhibition is on display in BAK until the 15th of April.
All photos of the exhibition in BAK by author.
