Installation

The project was presented as a 6-channel video installation in Theater Rotterdam, as part of the TRipp space residency in the summer of 2022. Presented on a theatre stage, the installation gives the research a physical presence, and puts the audience in the viewpoint of the performer. Locations in Suriname enter into dialogue with the theatre stage in the Netherlands – culminating in a climax in which two theaters, one in Suriname and one in the Netherlands are overlayed. The installation was shown again at Schouwburg Kustmin, Energiehuis Dordrecht in 2023.

Director's Statement

In 2019, Rotterdam-based theatre maker Mathieu Wijdeven stumbled upon the work of his great-great-grandfather G.G.T. Rustwijk, a largely overlooked yet significant figure in the cultural history of Suriname, a former Dutch colony on South America’s Caribbean coast. The film “Luci” originated with the desire to trace Rustwijk’s footsteps on location in Suriname. We thereby favored a way of working in which rather than arriving in Suriname with a preconceived plan, we wrote the entirety of the script on site. We hoped to create a film that although rooted in history, makes that history come alive and fosters a dialogue between past and present. Ultimately, “Luci” is a labor of love that seeks to honor and reinvigorate the legacy of G.G.T. Rustwijk, his “light”. It is both a personal journey and a reflection on broader societal themes such as Dutch-Caribbean diasporic identity, the colonial past, and critical thinkers and artists of color facing historical erasure.