Boris van Berkum (Rotterdam, 1968) is a visual artist who works at the intersection of art, heritage and spirituality. His practice explores how ritual, material and community can generate new forms of remembrance and healing. Trained at the Willem de Kooning Academy (Rotterdam) and the Academy of Fine Arts (Prague), Van Berkum develops projects that connect contemporary art with transcultural, transhistorical and spiritual perspectives.
Since 2010, Winti priestess Marian Markelo has commissioned Boris van Berkum and entrusted him with the task of developing a contemporary Winti art oeuvre — a constantly evolving visual language in which Afro-Surinamese spirituality enters into dialogue with European heritage. Under Markelo's spiritual guidance and commission, Van Berkum created iconic ritual objects such as the Kabra ancestor mask (used annually during the national commemoration ceremony of the Dutch slavery past) and the Mama Aisa Pronkbeeld, a sculptural representation of the goddess of life and earth.
His ongoing project Eau Décoloniale extends this dialogue to the world of scent, in which he explores the colonial history of perfume ingredients and their intertwining with global trade, extraction and desire. ‘What is the moral price of luxury?’ To this end, he collaborates with scientists from the Meertens Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), where he is affiliated as a guest researcher.
Discover this work for yourself in our museum, on display until 1 March 2026.
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