Art Rotterdam UNSEEN

At the 2026 UNSEEN Art Rotterdam art fair, BILDHALLE gallery presented a solo presentation around the dispersed cultural heritage within Casper Faassen's ReCollection series.

The new sculptures are presented as memories in transit and placed in groups with similar disputed backgrounds.

The ongoing questions of ownership and restitution can be seen as symbols for broader societal inequalities, reminding viewers that the conversations and the accountability of action do not end simply with the returning of an object. Restitution or the debate surrounding it, can be used as a starting point for understanding the complexity of our present day relationships.

The ReCollected cultural belongings in this presentation all stand in their own corner of the conversation.

For Faassen it is also a personal project. Although aware of his position and active in the discourse, his ideologies were not always visible in his work.

Thanks to Gert Oostindie, Jos van Beurden and Menucha Latumaerissa of the Budaya Kita foundation (which we partly support with the project) for their expertise and help. For in depth  learning on the subject, the books Rekenschap by Gert Oostindie, “Ongemakkelijk Erfgoed” and “Het lege-vitrinesyndroom” van Jos van Beurden are recommended.