if you are from Europe, why are you brown? is a playful, colourful world that explores displacement, colonialism, and racial trauma beneath its glossy surface.
A 2022 research journey through India inspired a deeper look into Surinamese-Hindustani roots. Shoe boxes, central to the installation, symbolise migration and broken promises—echoing how ancestors were lured from India to Suriname with false promises, just as goods are packed and shipped across borders.
A cow-print motif connects pop-culture nostalgia, the sacred symbol of the cow in India, and the Dutch word koe (cow), which forms the root of a racial slur used against Hindustani labourers. By reclaiming the cow, the work reveals the violence hidden in everyday language and calls out the lasting mark of colonialism.
The title comes from a question often heard in India, highlighting confusion about race and belonging. Echoing a pop-culture meme, the phrase uses humour to point out how identity gets reduced to stereotypes, mixing sweetness and discomfort.
Posters in the installation directly call out the racist slur “coolie,” making their message unavoidable. Some are placed on the floor and get stepped on, reflecting the harm faced by South Asian communities. A market stall references stereotypes but flips the script—challenging these images from within.
Bricks hint at both decay and resilience, helping create a vibrant environment inspired by the sensory overload of Indian street life.
little white lies, shoe boxes @ De school, 2023
By integrating western and Indian pop culture, camp aesthetics and references to colonial history, Oedit Doebé reflects on decolonisation and marginalisation. Her work interrogates how western pop culture is shaped by colonisation, resulting in stereotypes and whitewashing. By assembling imagery from western and Indian pop culture, she challenges these stereotypes.
if you are from europe, why are you brown? @ De School, 2023
beste wensen meid x, lenticular card, 2023
not your koelie </33, market stall @ Springboard art fair, 2023
julliëtte de koe @ UNFAIR, 2023
