Nazif Lopulissa

Lives and works in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Artist statement

My practice is a continual process of archiving and regeneration, using materials as both evidence and metaphor to uncover colonial histories that remain unspoken. I construct narratives that are at once personal, historical, and political, stitching together silenced family stories and fragmented cultural memories. Rooted in my own background, these narratives are translated into a wider, shared language that resonates with others shaped by displacement and diaspora. Born in the Netherlands to a Turkish father and a Moluccan mother, I have always lived within dualities Western and non-Western, Christian and Muslim. The religious divisions that led to my parents’ separation exposed me to the fractures created by belief, identity, and belonging. Long story short: The Dutch colonized the Moluccan islands about 300 years ago as part of the Dutch East Indies. During WWII, Moluccans fought alongside the Dutch against Japan, and during the Indonesian Independence War (directly after WWII) they fought against Indonesian freedom fighters. When Indonesia declared independence in 1945, the Moluccas declared their own republic, but the islands were taken over by Indonesia. As Moluccan soldiers were now perceived as enemy of the state, it became too unsafe for them to stay so the Dutch government promised them land in the Netherlands for a temporary stay of seven months. This promise has never been fulfilled. My grandfather was one of them, kidnaped by the Dutch government under false...

Artwork