Unlocked/Reconnected is a joined exhibition that brings together a wide range of ‘houses for art’: museums, institutes for presentation, galleries, artists’ initiatives and corporate collections. The point of departure for Unlocked/Reconnected is the idea of solidarity and underlining the importance of art and culture in this period of global crisis. Opening up the home, in the aftermath of the lockdown, will force us to collectively reconsider our outlook on the meaning of ‘home’, each showing one significant artwork that represents this.

Henk Wilschut’s photographic series ‘Rooted’ shows the potted plants of the inhabitants of refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan, as symbols of hope, of resilience and of beauty, in an attempt to create new life and a new home, under harsh conditions.

The selected work ‘Peach Tree’ is a photo of the same fruit-bearing tree that Henk Wilschut took in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan in 2018. The tree belongs to Abu Hamzi. A few weeks before the picture was taken, Abu discovered a young peach tree in the back of his garden, which probably grew from a discarded pit. Abu put crates over it to protect it from the kids, who yank everything out of the ground if you don’t watch out. He is hoping it will grow into a nice big tree, because that will give him shade and fruit.

The Zaatari refugee camp opened in 2012 and in the past years has accommodated an average of 90,000 inhabitants, making it one of the largest camps in the world. 

• More about Henk Wildschut • unlockedreconnected.nl