Museum Arnhem Installation Kleidungsaffe

Based in Rembrandt Theatre, the Biennale includes a key installation here in Museum Arnhem – Kleidungsaffe, by Indonesian artist Melati Suryodarmo. Translated as ‘Clothes Ape’, Melati Suryodarmo’s work reflects upon society’s excessive consumption of fast fashion and the universal human desire to belong. A tree-like structure is strung with hundreds of locally-donated clothes gathered from Arnhem residents and from the local clothes bank 2Switch.

The work is a durational performance that involves a person sitting on the tree’s perch for hours at a time, embracing the trunk. Their presence represents the social and economic ladder that many migrants feel they must climb to be accepted by society.