Inspired by a collections visit to The New York Historical during an artist residency, where artist Beatrice Glow studied 19th–20th century tunnel books—an early form of virtual reality in which an accordion-like structure unfolds into a sculptural book revealing a world within—Glow created her own version that imagines an alternative commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (present-day New York).
This artist book is the result of multi-year dialogues and collaborations with nine local and global culture bearers whose heritages—Northeastern Indigenous, African diaspora, Surinamese, Dutch Caribbean, and Indonesian—were shaped by Dutch colonialism. Following extensive listening sessions, Glow used virtual reality sculpting to create seven 3D models of parade-float maquettes that reflect these cultural perspectives. The models were then 3D printed as physical sculptures and also animated in a video filmed within a virtual environment.
This limited edition of paper tunnel books was made with the support of Jakari on the occasion of the exhibition Beatrice Glow: When Our Rivers Meet (2024) at The New York Historical.
Inspired by a collections visit to The New York Historical during an artist residency, where artist Beatrice Glow studied 19th–20th century tunnel books—an early form of virtual reality in which an accordion-like structure unfolds into a sculptural book revealing a world within—Glow created her own version that imagines an alternative commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (present-day New York).
This artist book is the result of multi-year dialogues and collaborations with nine local and global culture bearers whose heritages—Northeastern Indigenous, African diaspora, Surinamese, Dutch Caribbean, and Indonesian—were shaped by Dutch colonialism. Following extensive listening sessions, Glow used virtual reality sculpting to create seven 3D models of parade-float maquettes that reflect these cultural perspectives. The models were then 3D printed as physical sculptures and also animated in a video filmed within a virtual environment.
This limited edition of paper tunnel books was made with the support of Jakari on the occasion of the exhibition Beatrice Glow: When Our Rivers Meet (2024) at The New York Historical.
