NON (the Right to say No) is a continuation of the exhibition IN THE MARGINS at the Window_Show in 2023. Read more
With the presentation at WINDOW_SHOW at NDSM.FUSE, 2024, the artist emphasizes on the essentiality and importance of the capacity to say No against acts of injustice. By allowing the No in our experience, clear boundaries are creating a field holding norms and values to keep one sane from the projections of the external, crossing one’s boundaries. The artist invites the viewer to contemplate on their own experience(s) when boundaries were/are crossed. This may be in relation to an individual – or a collective external force, for example a war. It can be a happening from the past, something in the here and now or even in the future.
In order to be able to say No to something or someone we need to feel our boundaries. In order to know our boundaries, we need to understand our own norms and values. When we express and live by our norms and values, we return to being the authority of our own being and create a safe space within and around us.
Saying No – claiming the right to say No – creates clarity between the I and the other that oftentimes in “perpetrator – victim” relations are entangled. Which can lead to destructive thinking and/or behavior patterns within oneself.
The pillow and the stick invite the viewer to direct their No in a constructive way, without hysteria or acting out unresolved emotions. The artist aims to offer a tool that gives space to address the No to where it belongs. Hitting the pillow just once is to be a focused and significant gesture between you and you, without hurting yourself or the other.
On Sunday 28/7 between 13.00 and 14.30 Boukje will be present to guide a group of max. 12 people to claim their right to say No. This will happen through a meditation and ritual of letting go.
Besides her art practice Boukje has been guiding individuals and groups in their transformational processes for the past ten years in her practice Please Your Soul in Amsterdam. Feel welcome in case you have questions and to apply by email; info@pleaseyoursoul.com You will receive more information about how to prepare yourself for this event.