Mapping Traces
Catharina Vergeer
Catharina Vergeer’s research Mapping Traces investigates the prevailing perception of the maritime domain as predominantly male and masculine. It sets out to ask, how do our notions of gender impact life on board a ship, and vice versa how does being vessel bound impact our perceptions of gender? What if we blur the boundaries of perception? What knowledge can we find there? These questions were explored through hidden histories, present-day shipboard circumstances, and speculation on alternate stories. The insights gained have been translated into a choreography, and developed into a film that is currently in progress.
Shot in 16mm, the black and white film captures a group of people amidst the breakers, moving in relation to their surroundings and each other. Are their movements shaped by the environment, or do they determine their own paths through the seascape? These individuals embody the hidden histories of the sea and today’s seafarers’ stories through gestures and movements.
Catharina Vergeer
Catharina Vergeer (b. 1993, NL) is a visual artist/filmmaker based in Amsterdam. She completed a Bachelor’s degree at Gerrit Rietveld Academie in the department of Image and Language. Her ongoing practice draws on the relations that coalesce between the fabrics of gestures and their meanings. She uses a broad conception of language that is not limited to writing or speech. Through her fictional works and installations, she explores the stratification of language and alternate realities.
