state of us

state of us is a project that comprises an exhibition at de Appel and a parallel series of screenings and performances focusing on the inherited traumas of colonial violence and control that continue to shape social, mental and physical bodies across generations. 

The project is a collaboration between EVA International—Ireland’s Biennial of Contemporary Art and de Appel. It features a new commission by Dina Mimi and presentations by artists and projects commissioned by EVA International between 2021 and 2025, including Ciarán Ó Dochartaigh; Family Connection; We realised the power of it—Derry Film and Video Workshop, a project by Sara Greavu and Ciara Phillips with former workshop member Anne Crilly; Naeem Mohaiemen; Eoghan Ryan; Clíodhna Timoney and Eimear Walshe.

Thematically departing from Ireland—widely regarded as the first historical subject of the British colonial enterprise—state of us brings together artists who address Ireland or Irish experience, alongside ongoing and historical struggles in places such as Palestine, Bangladesh and Curaçao. The research-based artworks trace how the everyday and insidious effects of colonialism and its legacies recur in aspects of memory, sexual relations, social behaviours and health dysfunctions, among other examples.  

Taking its title from an Irish colloquialism used to describe a disordered appearance or situation, state of us plays on the word ‘state’ to span both the personal (the social and self-reflective) and the political (the national, territorial and sovereign). These two states—one internal, one structural—are the defining dynamics of the project, with many of the participating artists exploring the historical relations that connect them.

The exhibition at de Appel includes works by Ciarán Ó Dochartaigh; We realised the power of it—Derry Film and Video Workshop, a project by Sara Greavu and Ciara Phillips; Dina Mimi; Clíodhna Timoney and Eimear Walshe.

Film screenings and performances
Film screening: Derry Film and Video Workshop (Anne Crilly), Stop Strip Searching (1986)
Sunday, May 17, 2026, 7pm at Filmtheater Kriterion, Amsterdam 

Film screening: Eoghan Ryan, Carceral Jigs (2025) & A Sod State (2022)
Sunday, May 31, 2026, 7pm at Filmtheater Kriterion, Amsterdam

Film screening: Naeem Mohaiemen, A Missing Can of Film (2025) and Zahir Raihan, Stop Genocide (1971)
Tuesday, June 2, 7:15pm at Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam
In partnership with the Eye Filmmuseum and the international workshop LIBERATIONS: Questions for Art and Theory, hosted by the University of Amsterdam.

Performance: Eimear Walshe, The Piper’s Grip
Wednesday, June 10, 2026, 7pm at Cinetol, Amsterdam 

Performance by Family Connection
Friday, June 12, 2026, 7pm at de Appel, Amsterdam

Curated by Ailbhe W. Drohan, Matt Packer, Eszter Szakács