Choreography and performance
Monique Duurvoort
I am nationalistic. Not as a clear-cut conviction, but as a given that arises from my body, my history and my position. Born in Amsterdam, holder of a Dutch passport, shaped within a context that names and reads me as Dutch.
At the same time, I carry a multicultural background with me, in which multiple histories, perspectives and experiences come together and sometimes contradict one another. A considerable part of Dutch history is literally and figuratively anchored within me — but never to be seen separately from the other narratives that run through my life and work.
From that layered position, I claim the Dutch flag as a symbol of representation. And at the same time, that claim chafes. Because national identity is not a fixed given. It is assigned, confirmed and questioned — by institutions, by others and by myself. What seems self-evident to one person can be charged, problematic or exclusionary for another.