Speaking objects at Camp Vught
At the National Monument Camp Vught, speaking objects guide you through six remarkable life stories.
Travel from China to the Netherlands with Kam Hay Chong’s teapot. With Anton de Kom’s book, journey from Suriname to the Netherlands — and back again. Jane Davide’s suitcase travels across nearly every continent…
In the remarkable exhibition Crossroads Vught, you discover the wide range of nationalities of prisoners held at Camp Vught during the Second World War.
Tangible history
Through a characteristic object belonging to each person, you hear their life story via open audio. Together, you travel across a large world map. At every stop, you scan the object and learn more about how they ended up there, what they experienced, and how they came to be imprisoned in Camp Vught.
Speaking objects
These are truly ‘speaking objects’, because you literally hear the story from the object itself. But they are also ‘speaking’ in another sense: each was a deeply personal and meaningful possession of the person whose story you follow.
A sewing machine that saved a life. A book filled with ideas that will never die. After listening, you return the object for the next visitor.
Scripts
Together with subject-matter experts, we worked on the sometimes unimaginable life stories of the individuals portrayed. In some cases, we simply did not know exactly what had happened to someone or why they had been arrested. For that reason, we chose to tell the stories both in the first person and in the third person.
The third voice, the narrator, is able to move through time and speak honestly about uncertainties or gaps in the historical record.
When relatives were available, they reviewed the scripts with us and added valuable insights.
Teamwork
We created this exhibition together with: Kiss the Frog (exhibition concept and 3D design) and Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught (content and production supervision). Studio Roodenburch did the audio production and Bruns the exhibition construction.Voices by Kilke van Buren, Machteld van der Gaag, Ilari Hoevenaars and Allon Sylvain.
The facts at a glance
- 5–9 stops per object (10–20 minutes)
- 6 speaking objects
- Each with its own route across the world map
- 3D-printed objects in abstract white
- The color of each object’s base matches the colored routes on the map
