Diam! - what silence carries

Diam! - what silence carries is a sonic exploration of space and the ongoing echoes lived between Zeeland and Maluku through docks, seascapes and Tifa rhythm by multidisciplinary artist Tjaka Tomas.

The project launches on Saturday October 3 with a live performance in collaboration with the Stichting Mae Uku Tifa Group. Over the following months, Tomas will pursue the question of ‘what silence carries’ – both as remembrance and a celebration of Moluccan presence in Zeeland.

Diam! - what silence carries is joined by sound researcher and theorist meLê Yamomo, Assistant Professor of New Dramaturgies, Media Cultures, Artistic Research, and Decoloniality at the University of Amsterdam, as well as project lead of the ‘Sonic Entanglements’ research project. Through this collaboration Diam! will come into contact not only with significant sound archives held in the Netherlands, but also with fellow sound-makers and researchers from South East Asia and including Maluku undertaking research in the Netherlands during this period.

The project takes place alongside Vleeshal’s fall exhibition by Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn, in which unexploded weapons from the Vietnam War are transformed into objects of balance, flow and healing. The central sculpture of the exhibition is tuned to 685 Hz, a frequency used in Buddhism and in the treatment of post-traumatic disorders. The final presentation will take place in collaboration with Stichting Mae Uku, and as a closing program of our fall exhibition. Please stay tuned for further information

Tjaka Tomas works across artforms - sound, theater, storytelling, drawing, DJing - with a focus on bringing people together and opening spaces of dialogue. Always working intuitively, Tomas prioritises connecting people with what is not yet spoken or known; always inviting visitors, collaborators and listeners to be themselves. In 2026 Tomas will host a DJ/sound-set in collaboration with Eventgalore in Amsterdam, he regularly programs DJ nights at Het Hof van Zeeland in Middelburg and is closely affiliated with Stichting Mae Uku in Souburg where he was raised.

Diam! – what silence carries is an AIRZeeland residency undertaken in collaboration with Stichting Mae Uku, and supported by Regio Deal North Sea Port District / Provincie Zeeland.

Events

3 October

Performance Diam! - what silence carries

1:45 – 2 pm