Grey! Art on Aging

Aging

In today's society, we speak more often about anti-aging than about the wisdom that comes with age. Thanks to advances in healthcare, people are living longer; by 2040 one in four people in the Netherlands will be aged 65 or over. At the same time, one in three older people - a label that is uncomfortable in itself - experience age discrimination, also known as ageism. In Limburg, the region where the museum is based and where the population is aging rapidly, the challenges for healthcare, employment and wellbeing are considerable. Yet the province is equally known for its strong sense of community, social cohesion and active volunteer culture. With Grey! Art on Aging, museum van Bommel van Dam connects to this regional reality, bringing together local organisations, residents and visitors in an extensive interactive programme to reflect on aging, ageism and solidarity between generations.

Ageism and representation

From a young age, we are confronted with negative ideas and misconceptions about growing older. These stereotypes influence our thoughts, feelings and even our behaviour towards older people - and towards our own aging process. Artists in the exhibition challenge these dominant perceptions, questioning how we look at the aging body and mind.

Limburg-born artist melanie bonajo (Netherlands, 1978) questions notions of progress in Progress vs Regress (2016), a film in which a group of centenarians reflect on their lives and the technological changes they have witnessed - from the contraceptive pill to the selfie stick. The work reveals both the sense of alienation some older people feel in a rapidly changing world and the question of what 'progress' truly means.

Documentary photographer Isadora Kosofsky (United States, 1993) challenges social conventions with her project Senior Love Triangle (2019), an intimate portrait of three octogenarians in a romantic triangle that serves as a shield against loneliness.

The changing body

Our relationship with the aging body is increasingly complex. Reflecting this, the exhibition not only addresses the pressure of anti-aging culture but also reveals the beauty and vulnerability of the body in relation to the passing of time.

For decades, Joan Semmel (United States, 1932) has painted her own body, challenging the male gaze and the objectification of the female form. Rather than concealing aging, she celebrates it in all its reality.

Maria Lassnig (Austria, 1919-2014), a pioneer of body awareness painting, sought to depict the body from the inside out - painting not what she saw, but what she felt. In her later works she visualised the experiences that accompany aging, from physical discomfort to the nearness of death.

Relationships between generations

What role do ancestors play in our lives? Grey! also explores relationships between generations, both in life and beyond. The participating artists show how different cultures view older people and how ancestral connections shape identity and cultural history.

Tyna Adebowale (Nigeria, 1982) draws inspiration from the Uneme community in which she grew up, where several women may collectively raise a child. Her work explores how such intergenerational caregiving and the transmission of knowledge foster resilience and identity within a community.

Performance artist Wen Hui (China, 1960) pays tribute to her forgotten great-aunt in her video installation Dance with Third Grandma (2015), in which dance and movement become a means of unlocking hidden stories.