Dishoek Inventory VI: Antonio Machado in Zeeland

 

A Spanish/Dutch resident of Zeeland for three years, Paola Leenhouts-Gonzalez  consciously connected her own cultural baggage with the landscape she encountered. The video diptych is a record of two interventions, in which she reads out Spanish poems to corresponding locations in Dishoek.

 

XXI

from: Soledades, Galerías y Otros Poemas

The theme of XXI focuses on time passing, silence and death. Antonio Machado’s intention with this poem was to create a feeling of timelessness while dealing with time. Similarly, in the Dutch landscape, by reading out loud, she attempts to collapse two places.

 

Pegasos, Lindos Pegasos

from: Poesías Completas

In Pegasos, Lindos Pegasos Antonio Machado remembers his childhood through carrousel horses. After reciting this poem I decided to give the page away to a passing-by tourist who ended up reciting it again himself.

 

Paola Leenhouts-Gonzalez is a Spanish/Dutch urban geographer who recently graduated in Social Sciences at University College Roosevelt. Her interest lies in combining her academic background through field work with arts & design practice.