Flow International I32 2019

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TEXT

CHRIS MUYRES

PHOTOGRAPHY

RONALD DE BOER/STUDIO 5982

STYLING

ANNE-MARIE REM

Museum of Me

ANN DEMEESTER IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE FRANS HALS MUSEUM IN HAARLEM,

THE NETHERLANDS. “IN LOOKING FOR MEANINGFUL OBJECTS FOR MY OWN

MINI EXHIBIT,” SHE SAYS, “I SUDDENLY REALIZED THAT NEARLY EVERYTHING IN

MY HOUSE HAS A STORY—OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE THROWN IT AWAY.”

museum director,

Ann Demeester

1

Barry the ex My husband

Gerbrand gave me this Barry

White single; it’s one of our guilty

pleasures. The ironic thing is that

the portrait of White could easily

be a portrait of my ex.

2

Mystery My grandmother on

my father’s side collected these

folklore dolls. She lived with my

grandfather in the former Congo, in

a closed compound, and I think that

these dolls had something to do with

her longing for the outside world. I

still hope to find one of her diaries

one day.

3

Wedding logo We had our

wedding announcement made

by the brilliant Will Holder. Using a

marker, he wove my and Gerbrand’s

initials together, and this became our

wedding logo.

4

Progressive insight I once

had to put together a

retrospective of the Dutch artist

Rob Birza’s work. At first, I didn’t

like his work, but I gradually came

to really love it. Birza gave me this

kitschy vase. It reminds me that

sometimes appreciation is a gradual

rather than an instantaneous process.

5

Who’s Bob? A friend gave me

Barbabob when my son was

born. He sees Barbapapa as a

‘reflection on the fluid identity in our

society. Sexual, but also in other roles

we have as individuals’. It’s funny to

see it this way.

6

Liberation ring Make-up,

jewelry and tight pants weren’t

allowed at my high school in Belgium.

Even though I was a very diligent

student, I was incredibly rebellious in

terms of my personal clothing style.

I got a navel piercing right before I

started college. It felt so liberating.

7

Secret letters My best friend

and I sat next to each other in

class and still wrote each other a

letter every day, laying bare our entire

souls. The almost symbolic intensity

of teenage friendships, as well as a

medium such as the letter—I find

these things so incredibly beautiful.

8

Mother’s doll I have been

dragging this head of my

mother’s first doll around with me

since I left home. My mother is still

alive, and the doll meant a lot to her,

and even though she’s not really a

pack rat, I am.

9

The art of giving Beatrix

Ruf, former director of the

Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the

Netherlands, once gave me this bizarre

little painting as a sign of mutual

professional respect. I don’t even know

who the artist is. For me, it has a much

higher value as a gift than the art itself.

10

Stress ball As the director

of contemporary arts center

De Appel (The Apple) in Amsterdam, I

had the difficult task of finding a new

building. Afterward, we distributed

these stress balls to everyone. It

symbolizes the hectic period, but also

the frivolous approach to it.

11

Rituals In Belgium, you get

ice cream in the shape of

a lamb for dessert at your First

Communion. You have a mini sword

to chop off the head and then red

syrup starts flowing, representing

blood. I always loved this ritual and

have always cherished the little sword.

12

Family history This ivory

crocodile is from Congo and,

among other things, it stands for my

family’s discussions about colonial

history. I’ve always been very interested

in, and passionate about, this subject.