* 1965 in Curaçao (AN), lives and works in Curaçao (NL)

The Invasion of The Netherlands supported by Chavez (Chavez had to stop at IKEA in spain to buy himself a new presidential chair), 2008

The installations and performances of Caribbean artist Tirzo Martha represent an ironic mirror of the socio-political state of Caribbean societies. With his multi-media, open works, Martha undertakes a social analysis and thus traverses the fine line between fiction and reality.
The Invasion of the Netherlands supported by Chavez (Chavez had to stop at IKEA in Spain to buy himself a new presidential chair) is a remarkable collection of every-day objects – a construction made of used furniture, crockery, and various domestic materials. Reminiscent of improvised street barricades in the context of political protest movements or of patchwork altars, among others, the work consists of IKEA furniture, collected as talismans of Western culture, of Caribbean souvenir articles, or small replicas of chintzy Catholic symbols.
Martha’s ironic and sarcastic reflections focus on the present-day constitution of postcolonial Caribbean societies, marked by poverty and dependency on international tourism and other, more recent forms of slavery, and show the peoples disappointments, the anger, and the daily fight for survival. At the same time, he makes reference to their dreams and the vitality of a new Creole identity and culture, which position itself confidently in the area of the “in-between.” In addition, Martha confronts the observers with the cliché of a colorful and naïve Caribbean art, or a corresponding attitude of expectation. (AE)