AND THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND

Since the immemorial the Papuans have perceived the world of the rich Westerners as a sort of heaven. In their encounters both Papuans and Westerners have focused upon obtaining the riches of the other culture. Villevoye and Dietvorst examine in ’And the trumpet shall sound’ ways how interests and expectations from both occidentals and Papuans go on the one hand in the same direction, but also lead to conflict if they come in close contact. People shape their lives in a hybrid setting; a large settlement surrounded by a merciless tropical landscape. The arrival of outsiders gives a new impulse to their expectations of a better world. However the newcomers also have their own, sometimes conflicting ambitions and ideas. The longing for material wealth takes on a magical and mythical dimension in these circumstances. In the stream of the sometimes contemplative images, Dietvorst and Villevoye slowly but clearly reveal their mission. By showing resemblances between the two cultures, combined with the authentic forces of the Papuans, their strong believe in the culture of their ancestors and their connectivity with their environment, the desire for another, less self-centered and capitalist world arises. By means of showing us a portrait of ’the other’, Dietvorst and Villevoye place the spectator in front of a mirror.