As part of the group exhibition State of Wander: Towards Environmental Restoration at Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn (17.4– 27.9.2026), Terike Haapoja presents Of Foreign Beasts and Other Rarities, 2026.
Developed together with Genesis Victoria, the project includes an audio tour in the historical quarters of the palace, that takes the listener on a journey through these often untold stories that underlie official historical narratives; a one-channel video work that views the palace in the dark as a crime scene; and a series of photographs.
Shifting away from individual royal biography, the work foregrounds plants, animals and multispecies perspectives shaped by colonial trade and capitalist expansion. Set in 1687, the audio tour traces the global movement of people, goods, and creatures bound up in the palace’s own history.
Listen and explore:
- Available on the Paleis Het Loo app and on location at the museum
- Download the audio tour booklet from Terike Haapoja’s website
“It’s the year 1687, and we are in the heart of a storm.
It’s Sunday, the palace is quiet. In the distance, the clicking of steps from a servant on the stone floor. Outside, the clapping of hoofs from a horse in the courtyard.
Paleis Het Loo is a haven, a place of quiet for the royals, far from the tumult and chatter of the city. But outside the palace, there is a storm.”
This text is an excerpt from the script for the audio tour as part of the exhibition State of Wander – Towards Environmental Restoration at Paleis Het Loo, Apeldoorn, 2026.
Terike Haapoja, Foreign Beasts And Other Rarities, photographs, 2026
Audio tour:
Sound design Genesis Victoria
Narrators: Melanie Bonajo/NL, Terike Haapoja/EN
Video:
Cinematography: Echo Wichera
Set asistant: SOFY
Sound design: Genesis Victoria
Essay:
Graphic design: Mia Kivinen
Images from the collection Iconographia Zoologica, Amsterdam University
State of Wander: Towards Environmental Restoration at Paleis Het Loo, Apeldoorn, 17.4–27.9.2026.
The exhibition is made possible thanks to the support of BPD Cultuurfonds, Vrienden Lotterij, Mondriaan Fonds and the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux.
Read more about the exhibition in our previous post.
Cover image courtesy of Paleis Het Loo.