From 1-17 November 2013 various locations alongside the Amsterdam canals hosted an exhibition entitled Chambres des Canaux: The Tolerant Home. Tolerance, the theme of the exhibition, is a concept that arguably has its roots in the period during which the construction of the Canal Ring started – 400 years ago. The event took place in 20 classic canal houses with works by 35 contemporary artists. Participating artists included Yael Bartana, Ina an Zyl, David Claerbout, Amie Dicke, Charlotte Dumas, Marlene Dumas, Zachary Formwalt, Alicia Framis, David Haines, Atelier Van Lieshout, Steve McQueen, Julika Rudelius, Viviane Sassen, Fiona Tan, Guido van der Werve and others.
Works by David Jablonowski, Germaine Kruip and Ina van Zyl were exhibited at Huis Van Brienen / Herengracht 284.
"Much like the haunting memories of dreams, remembered shortly after having woken but already slipping away, Ina van Zyl's fragmented and deeply hued paintings give us an insight into the untapped emotional world lurking underneath our consciousness. Unhindered by social conventions or taboos, as dreams can be, so are the subjects Van Zyl touches upon. Often born out of (in-) significant incidents in her life, she broods and contemplates for a long time before she takes up the subject.
At that point Ina van Zyl sees these living and lifeless things she paints as situated "beyond any context"; they are portrayed in isolation and in an objective way. Her shapes are heavy, clear and recognizable, sometimes geometric. The entire surface of the canvas is saturated, full of paint. Any sense of action is absent, and yet every painting, to her, is an implosion of turbulence - desires and memories, sorrow and drunkenness. Every painted object withdraws into itself. As Van Zyl describes it: "Each thing has just enough legroom to exist. Only the essentials remain: just enough food and water, a cup to drink from."
"Just as an elephant seal undergoes annual moulting, I am subjected to a self-portrait once a year. And each year I paint myself from a different perspective: frontally, in profile, from behind, with closed eyes, in a reclining position. By doing this I register my manner of painting from one year to the next and thus record the lapsing of my time."
