Onderhuids

Nursing work as commodity

What do nurses do? And will we have enough “hands at the bedside” in the future? Is healthcare an unlimited commodity? Making sense of nursing work is not as straightforward as shipping a parcel by International delivery service.

In Onderhuids, artists and nurses collaborate to explore and push the boundaries of nursing work. The artists Nieke Koek, Aart Strootman, and Dana Dijkgraaf have created three works in partnership with nurses Inge Smits and Jessica Berkvens (Kempenhaeghe), Monique van Huijgevoort (Archipel Zorggroep), and Elise Bot (De Wever). The artists have explored the contexts in which the nurses work and translated their experiences into visual, auditory, sculptural and playful art.

The three works are placed in and around a wooden replica of a sea container. The container represents the often invisible and continuous flow of care work that deserves more attention. No cold iron cargo container, stacked up in the port of Rotterdam but an unique, intimate, wooden container. Visitors are encouraged to think about what nurses do, the impact of their often unseen work, and how this contributes to the sustainability of our healthcare system, now, and in the future.