coat of arms, 2000
site-specific installation, oil on canvas, 80 x 50 cm each
presented as part of the exhibition home is where the heart is (2000) and portrait of a family (2003)

museum van loon, amsterdam,
the netherlands

intrigued by the family van loon’s coat of arms, i learned that jan van loon was the cofounder of the east india company in 1602, exploiting slave labor in numerous sugar and coffee plantations.
'coat of arms' serves as a homage to the anonymous moors. the paintings were placed in the original 18th-century golden gilded frames of the van loon’s portraits.