uit het woud

This first show at Foamlab is probably a world premiere. From the collection of the Dutch artist Jan Dietvorst a group of six mask costumes known as Jipae and Doroe are shown together. In any anthropological collection shown world wide in museums you might see one or two of these Asmat artifacts, but a group of six is unheard of. A group like this would come together in an ‘Adoption feast’ where the relationships in family life are restored after the death of a family member. The new bread-winner of the family will wear the mask costume to play the return of the diseased who visits the village for one more day. Several of these masked persons will come together in an 80 meter long celebration house, which is left to the element after the feast. In this ritual the balance in the community is restored and all duties towards the forefathers are fulfilled.