National Maritime Museum
from September 27, 2024
The exhibition Shadows on the Atlantic explores the impact of colonial history on people’s lives. At sea and on land, then and now. Contemporary art and videos with personal stories offer new perspectives on the museum’s collection.
Shadows on the Atlantic features objects from the museum’s collection, such as various 17th and 18th-century paintings and a two-meter-long model of the ship D’Keulse Galy. Ships like these were used to abduct enslaved people from West Africa and transport them to the colonies in America.
While this ship model vividly depicts what such a vessel looked like, it doesn’t convey the experiences of those on board. Therefore, the museum collection is complemented with videos featuring stories about historical figures and interviews with experts, offering a new perspective on the objects. This gives the objects in our collection a different meaning. Or perhaps even more meaning.