Gallery Talk: with Jonas Staal

Jonas Staal 

(Zwolle, the Netherlands, 1981, lives and works in Rotterdam)
In his work, Jonas Staal explores the relationship between art, democracy and propaganda. The artist analyses and questions the world of today, and its dominant power regimes. Using artistic and theoretical manifestations—including public interventions, exhibitions, video studies and publications—Staal simultaneously aims to contribute to the propagation of alternative solidary worlds.

For the Prix de Rome 2023, Jonas Staal continues his artistic exploration of (neo)colonial propaganda through the centuries. He focuses on Ascension, a volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean. Staal uses video, a sculptural model and a diary from 1728 to explain how the island was formed by colonial, industrial and exploitative power structures; from an open-air prison for an exiled Dutch East India Company crew member to the geoengineering of the ecosystem and the construction of satellite dishes for planetary surveillance. 

ABOUT DE PRIX DE ROME

The Prix de Rome is the pre-eminent incentive award for talented visual artists from the Netherlands and/or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The aim of the Prix de Rome is to stimulate the development of highly talented artists and to boost their visibility, thereby ensuring that the visual art field remains topical. The Mondriaan Fund has organized and financed the award since 2012. The Prix de Rome Visual Arts 2023 is being organized in collaboration with the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. An accompanying publication will also be produced.

More info: www.prixderome.nl