Interview Natalia Śliwińska

Natalia Śliwińska interviewed by Cristina Lavosi during the Graduation Show 2021 at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK).

Beyond Taxonomic Narratives

Graduation project 2020-2021 by Natalia Śliwińska
HD video

In the fibre collection of the natural history museum Naturalis, there is a selection of Panama hats stored under the taxonomic name of the plant that is used to make them –Carludovica Palmata. Between 1913–1947, in Maria Patronaat, a braiding school operated by Catholic missionaries in Paramaribo, a group of Surinamese single mothers used to make these hats, but the story of the makers is absent from the Naturalis collection.

Beyond Taxonomic Narratives explores how the telling of unreported stories and rereading of archives could take place, highlighting the responsibility of the institution in acknowledging these histories. The project aims to contribute to current decolonial rereadings of history and suggests ways of counter-archiving. The weaving of personal and interview narratives reflects on how archival material and storytelling could be used as a tool to de-centre taxonomic systems of order.