‘Beneath the shimmering it’s dark blue’ explores through painting, prints and documentary footage how structural violence during the Cold War have influenced (inner) worlds. These different media come together in an installative work. On the outside of the installation hang two painted banners inspired by a study of (Western) imperialist propaganda images from the Cold War until now and the visual language of several anti-colonial counter-movements. Inside the installation, a video is shown that hovers between dreamlike abstraction and documentary. The installation shows the subjective and fragmented nature of history, rather than a clear linear narrative. The focus is not on listing historical facts, but on questioning dominant narratives and how this has shaped people’s imaginations, dreams, emotions and inner perceptions. Moving on the border between past – present, subjective – objective, personal – societal, this project poetically explores contemporary society with a focus on inner experiences haunted by a violent past.

About the Artist: Vera Kersting (1997) is a Rotterdam-based artist engaged in crossovers between painting and other mediums, such as film and writing. She paints images that explore relational dynamics between media images, digitally & physical landscapes and the fiction of reality. Boundaries play a significant role: visually on the canvas or more ambiguous boundaries between public—private, subject—object, past—present. This crossing of borders facilitates transgression in which fetishism, spectacle and madness emerge. Vera’s work is charged with unsettling emotions of conflict, pervasive in society – yet often unsurfaced. The paintings are composites of multiple suffused layers. The subject matter, often derived from media, declines straightforward interpretation and is filled with innuendos and double entendres. These dissonances created within the work can universally be understood but are strangely connected to the artist’s own identity.

This performance is part of the MOMO X Amarte Open Call 2025. Read more.