Magnificant ending of the Painted Table Dress process in Aruba

by Marij Elisabeth Rynja

Friday afternoon time stood still on the shores of Aruba. On the dock of Roger's Beach, near San Nicolas, we witnessed a breath taking presentation and performance of the Painted table dress, made during the social embroidery workshop earlier this week with 16 participants at Scol di Arte.
On the sounds of a traditional Aruban piano box, musician Michael Lampe leaded dancer Alydia Wever, dressed in the table dress, from water to land where a long table waited to be covered by the table dress. Alydia Wever danced with the long embroidered cloth folded in her arms, like it was a new born ready to present to the outside world. When she reached the table, she softly song repeatedly an Aruban lullaby called 'Maria ta den Cushina' (about Maria who ask us to come to the table and see what she has prepaired). Two girls, dressed in creations of Painted Series, made subtle sound effects of people with clinking wine classes. At final, when the table was covered, the girls put water glasses on the table, while Alydia Wever put off the table dress, walked back to the water and dissapeared with a elegant dive.

For Painted it was an emotional moment seeing their effort and creation get together so well. It was exactly what they wished for when they created the table dress concept two years ago. "It felt really, really good, its a disclosure so perfect it moved me deeply", Margreet Sweerts said. Sakia van Drimmelen: "The idea was already there, but never the right moment. We were asked two years ago to create a table cloth, but just making a table cloth and present it in a shop felt unnatural and not 'painted' like. I knew all along this table cloth should be a made by more than one pair of hands. I saw people sitting around the table and embroider together, even when you never did that before. I am really happy with the result."
Afterwards I spoke shortly with Alydia Wever, who still swom in the water....and so was I. She told me that since she lived in Queens, New York where she danced, she collected nice fabrics and textiles without doing anything with it. So, for her it was also a beatiful moment to dance with accual fabric in stead of only wearing it as a costume. And the teamwork made her dancing today right from the heart.

The project of the Painted Table dress is SALON/ pur sang.

Thank you Painted Series, Alydia Wever, Michael Lampe, Scol di Arte and especially UNOCA for supporting this well executed and delicate project.

In the back Alydia Wever starts her dance. The girl in frint is Alydia's daughter,
a dancer as well, dressed by Painted. Photo: Marij Rynja 

The table dress will be unfolded. Photo: Marij Rynja

End of presentation, the table dress is revealed (attached to the dress). Photo: Marij Rynja

Michael Lampe Photo: Marij Rynja

Alydia Wever | Margreet Sweerts | Robin de Vogel | Michael Lampe | Pierangely Wever | Saskia van Drimmelen

Written and photographed by Marij Elisabeth Rynja official blogger for SALON/
www.marijrynja.com

AIS SALON presents: Antoine Peters, Mode Made Man & Claudia Ruiz at Queen Beatrix International Airport

AIS SALON/ presents: Robin de Vogel, a girl with a monumental mission

Robin de Vogel, a third year student at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy who has lived in Aruba, is fascinated by the tangible signs of time, particularly those observed in architecture. These 'signs of decay' as she calls it are considered to be a flaw or something ugly. And therefore ignored. Robin de Vogel started repairing the holes and cracks in the city center of Amsterdam with self made pieces of ceramics which she glazed in a decorative manner, highlighting the signs of decay in the architecture by making them into little ornaments. She said: "In my work I try to pose questions about perception. The pieces blend in with the architecture and their presence is subtle, but at the same time they have a delicate decorative quality that grabs the viewers' attention. The project poses questions about aesthetics and underlines the temporal aspect of life".

Across Aruba and the AIS SALON/ locations, she has repaired a tile, a broken curb, missing cement, or a hole. Robin: "The buildings chosen for AIS SALON/ are of great historic and cultural value for Aruba. The work can be seen as something that ties all these locations together. I hope to make a statement with this work emphasizing the importance of maintaining these constructions for generations to come."

'Muhe Frida', a multidisciplinary performance of Alydia Wever + special Frida Kahlo exposition

Alydia Wever's fascination for Frida Kahlo was encouraged by the biography of Hayden Herrera in 2002. Alydia Wever: “Frida Kahlo has become a universal role model as the independent feminist whos physical, emotional and spiritual pain is shaped in confrontational and intrusive images”. Since then, Wever began her artistic journey to give shape to a new multidisciplinary dance theater project called ‘Muhe Frida’, where she and many friends have worked on for almost two years. 
‘Muhe Frida’ shows seven paintings of Frida Kahlo in scenario form. Combined with modern dance as the basis, four young female guest dancers from Aruba, Holland, Cuba and Canada gave a dynamic interpretation and adoration for the female power of Frida Kahlo. The show started outside, where different Frida’s waited like frozen soldiers, in front of the audience. The second part of the show was in the lobby, where pupils of Alydia Wever danced with painted skull faces. Part three was the equal show.
Every time the curtain opened, a new painting revealed, as well as the costumes & art work (various Aruban designers have cooperated on this project), atmosphere and style of music, the over-all choreography, the emotions of the movements, the combination of video art, Frida’s poems, Mexican songs, the light….but most of all the resemblance and identification of Alydia Wever with her idol Frida Kahlo was remarkable.
After the premiere in Cas di Cultura, Aruba's main theater house, a special 'Muhe Frida' exposition was opened, where contemporary female artists had created art works inspired by the life or the work of Frida Kahlo.

www.muhefrida.com

Opening scene - from under the skirt four dansers stept out on stage 

Petra Lunenberg 

Osaira Muyale

Alydia Wever

Jess Wolff

posted and photographed by Marij Elisabeth Rynja official blogger for SALON/

JESS WOLFF @ Protestant Church - AIS/SALON

The work of Jess Wolff is about superstition, what refers as well to herself as the Aruban culture. When its full moon, they believe that you have to cut your hair, or that the next day you will transform yourself. 
The dress Jess Wolff created is a ritual full moon dress, that symbolizes the pulling and drawing force a full moon has on her. “I was born on a full moon eve”, she said. Therefore she will perform in this dress on her 30^th birthday to worship it. The hair on front of the dress and the wrinkles in the skirt symbolise the moon's pulling effect: “ Its pulling from the core, the roots from out of the ground”.

posted by Marij Elisabeth Rynja official blogger for SALON/