KIT-LING TJON PIAN GI

Dear World!
I am Kit-Ling Tjon Pian Gi. I am an ‘Alakondre’ visual artist, who also loves to write. I work and live in Suriname. As a former Dutch colony, the official language is Dutch. Our lingua franca is called Sranan Tongo. Alakondre is a unique word in Sranan Tongo. Literally translated, Alakondre means: all countries. Alakondre is not only a word, but also a vision. It is an awareness, a philosophy, a way of life, a wisdom of life. Alakondre means thinking in more than one language and seeing things from many perspectives. The other perspective is never unknown. Alakondre is a spectrum of multiple colors and many tastes. An Alakondre personality can adapt to many cultures and is able to adapt to every culture he comes in contact with. An Alakondre person loves thy neighbor like he loves himself.

I prefer to call myself a woman artist instead of a female artist. I was born in a time when most people in my surroundings did not believe in visual art as a profession, let alone in a woman being a visual artist. Suriname is this tiny little country on the north coast of South America but is mostly called a Caribbean country. However, we are the center of the world because our country is also part of the Amazon hemisphere which can be seen as lungs of the Earth. So, although Suriname is barely visible on the ‘World Art’ map and I am an older woman artist, I think of myself as the center of the world. Within this website, I like to tell you some stories. Hopefully, you will enjoy them!

Installation ‘My Alakondre Self-portrait’ by Kit-Ling Tjon Pian Gi