My Dearest Teun – A Look Back
- Irma van Bommel
- 14 hours ago
- 4 min read
On 15 August 2025, Pennings Foundation opened the exhibition My Dearest Teun by photographer Tahné Kleijn, centred on the story of her grandmother, who was imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp during the Second World War.
The opening date was chosen deliberately: 80 years earlier, on 15 August, Japan capitulated, bringing an end to the imprisonment in the Japanese camps in former Dutch East Indies. A day of remembrance.
A family history
In My Dearest Teun, Tahné Kleijn tells the story of her grandmother Pieta, who was imprisoned with her young son in Tjideng, a Japanese internment camp for women and children in what was then Batavia (now Jakarta). Her grandfather Teun, a sailor with the Koninklijke Pakketvaartmaatschappij, also endured traumatic experiences at sea. But as in so many families from this period, little was spoken about what had happened to them after the war. The Netherlands focused mainly on its own wartime experiences under German occupation; stories from the Indies received little attention.
It was only the second and especially the third generation of Dutch-Indonesians who actively began searching for answers. They travelled to Indonesia, read or wrote books, made films, and initiated art projects.
The forbidden diary
What makes this exhibition exceptional is that it is based on the diary Pieta kept in the camp. She wrote on tiny scraps of paper, hidden behind picture frames, in the trunk, in everyday objects. Diaries were forbidden; discovery meant the death penalty. After the war, Pieta transcribed her notes into notebooks that remain in the family’s possession. It is a rare document offering a glimpse into life in the camps: the deprivation, the fear, but also the daily care for her child.
In addition to the diary, Pieta kept a baby book, collected recipes for a cookbook - even when there was barely any food - and made a wooden puzzle for her son. These tangible traces formed the inspiration for Kleijn’s photographic reconstructions.
Studio sets
In her studio, Tahné Kleijn built several sets referencing the houses where Pieta lived with her son in the camp. Using models — including herself and her own son — she created staged images that evoke the atmosphere, tension, and vulnerability of that period.
The exhibition was complemented by Traces of War (2003) by photographer Jan Banning, a famous series portraying men who had been forced labourers on the railway lines of Burma and Sumatra. His father and grandfather were among them.
Public programme: context, conversation and reflection
We now think differently about the colonial era, partly because of the book Revolusi by David Van Reybrouck, which for the first time brought this history to light on a large scale.
That is why we organised an extensive side programme, with particular attention to Indo (and Moluccan) Dutch people in our society. For a discussion - We tell stories. What’s yours? - we collaborated with the Eindhoven-based poet of Indo descent, Carola Eijsenring. At our request, Natlab screened Indië Verloren… Selling a colonial war by director In-Soo Radstake once again, a film about how the Dutch government, after liberation, unexpectedly insisted on holding on to the colony. And in our own venue we showed Prop ut Merrop by dré didderiëns, about soldiers — including his father — who, after the Second World War, believed they were going to help rebuild the Dutch East Indies but instead found themselves in the midst of Indonesia’s struggle for independence..
What we learned from our visitors
During the exhibition, we welcomed many visitors with Dutch-Indonesian roots — mostly from the second and third generation, but also a few from the first. Descendants of former Indies soldiers also visited. What became clear? How little we actually know about the colonial history of the Dutch East Indies, about the suffering in the camps, about the military actions and Indonesia’s struggle for independence.
Many children and grandchildren know hardly anything about what their parents or grandparents went through. It was not spoken about. The trauma was palpable, yet often remained unspoken. Their reception in the Netherlands was frequently cold; parents placed their hopes on their children, with a strong emphasis on education and progress.
Why this exhibition mattered
My Dearest Teun illuminated not only a family history, but also a shared past that had long remained underexposed. It showed how art can help break silence, creating space for stories that have been tucked away for generations.
See also the blog Een staat in wording and Traces of War
During Dutch Design Week in October, we attracted many visitors with Reflecting Diverseness, an installation by the Eindhoven-based studio mo man tai that explored our multicultural society in the form of a sea of flowers.
While statistics merely show the composition of the Dutch population in numbers, design can visualise the beauty of our multicultural society. Visitors also showed great interest in the exhibitions by Tahné Kleijn and Jan Banning and clearly recognised the connection between them.
Amid the exhibitions, an Inspiration day for amateur photographers was held on Sunday, October 12. Tahné Kleijn was one of the speakers.
Tahné Kleijn (1990), a photographer from Helmond and graduate of AKV | St. Joost, is known for her carefully directed images inspired by the light and compositions of the 17th century. Her work is engaged and narrative; she explores the space between fact and fiction, between beauty and discomfort. Earlier series such as Soo d’Oude Songen, Soo Pypen de Jongen, Mijn Waarde Vincent and #StilLeven demonstrate her ability to connect personal stories with broader social themes.
The Eindhovens Dagblad paid attention to the exhibition My Dearest Teun.
Photos: Lieke Winters, unless specified otherwise
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