Marcel Pinas (Pelgrimkondre, Suriname, 1971) studied in Suriname, Jamaica and was a resident at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam in 2007/2008. With his installations and paintings, he aims to make people aware of the lifestyle and traditions of maroon culture, and the threats they and other native Suriname communities are faced with. The theme of Kibri A Kulturu (Preservation of Culture) is Pinas’s main source of motivation and inspiration. The cultural significance of pangi fabric, ancestral Afaka writing symbols and traditional wood carving patterns play a major role in his work.
Pinas has dedicated his own career as an artist directly to the Maroon community. He founded the cultural centre Stichting Kibii, where young people from his birthplace Pilgrimkondre are educated and encouraged to build a future based on their own culture. In the past ten years, various projects have been developed, such as the Art Park and the Moengo-Festival.
During Marcel Pinas’ solo, Club Solo will transform into a collective work studio where the artist will build an interactive installation together with those who are interested. His earlier installation Kibii Wi Koni (Protect our knowledge) consists of several thousand bottles wrapped with pangi-fabric. At Club Solo, this work will be dismantled: participants will rearrange the pieces of pangi fabric into a new work titled Goontapu. Pinas considers the construction of the interactive installation to be an act against climate change.
Along with this interactive installation, Pinas will be showing a selection of his paintings. On Sunday 17 and Sunday 24 April, at 15.00 hrs there will be a presentation in which he will talk about his work, backgrounds and motives.