We were shadows

Enzo and I went to the PAN artfair yesterday. I got the tickets from a very nice lady at work, which made it a free event, which Enzo and I like very much in these times of saving-money-for-Curaçao. We got on our bikes and set off to the Rai, through the rain, past the drummer. We had no expectations, and we were impressed: a red carpet outside, a zebra-carpet inside, champagne and oysters, fancy pies and lots and lots of expensive art. We saw some sketches made by Rembrandt, paintings by Karel Appel, photographs by Rineke Dijkstra, glass from the 18th century, Roman and Egyptian art, jewellery and silver cutlery in fancy boxes.

We felt shabby and poor, like we were shadows among the rich, and still we looked down on the women who ran around on their expensive high heels, shouting in their telephones with high-pitch voices: 'no no, we haven't bought very much yet'. We also felt very lucky to see all those beautiful things gathered.

There was one piece we liked so much. I forgot how much it was, I think I didn't want to remember. We liked it, because it looked beautiful and freaky at once, and they did something with the lights to make it look extra odd. I managed to make one picture (it wasn't allowed), and I found an image on the internet. The artist's name is Kees van Dongen. The painting's called 'Dolly', if I remember correctly. It reminded me of my mother.