PhD candidate in History of Art (University of Liège) - Doctorante boursière en histoire de l'art (Université de Liège) Thesis (in progress) : "Artists facing the (post)colonial question in Belgium: The history and the legacy of the Belgian colonization of the Congo through contemporary artistic practices (1960-2020)" - Supervisor : Prof. Julie Bawin Thèse (depuis 2019) : La question (post)coloniale à l'épreuve de l'art contemporain en Belgique : regards des artistes sur l'histoire et l'héritage de la colonisation belge du Congo (1960-2020)
Keywords : Contemporary Art ; Belgium ; AfricaMuseum Tervuren (MRAC) ; Colonialism ; Belgian Colonial Past ; Belgian Congo ; Republic Democratic of Congo (RDC) ; Archival Turn ; Ethnographic Museums and Collections ; Colonial Legacies ; Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale Artists : Luc Tuymans ; Sammy Baloji ; Sven Augustijnen ; Vincent Meessen ; Aimé Mpane ; Freddy Tsimba ; Jean-Pierre Müller ; Laura Nsengiyumva (...) Supervisors: Julie Bawin (University of Liege)
La fabrique des collections : origines, trajectoires & reconnexions, 2023
BISSCHOP, Alisson, « ExItCongoMuseum : une tentative pionnière de décolonisation à Tervuren. Rega... more BISSCHOP, Alisson, « ExItCongoMuseum : une tentative pionnière de décolonisation à Tervuren. Regards croisés de Boris Wastiau et de Toma Muteba Luntumbue », dans GONDOLA, Didier, LACAILLE, Agnès, MUMBEMBELE, Placide et VAN BEURDEN, Sarah (éds.), (RE)MAKING COLLECTIONS: Origins, Trajectories & Reconnexions / La fabrique des collections : origines, trajectoires & reconnexions, Tervuren, Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale, 2023, p. 135-144.
In Belgium, there are a significant number of street names, statues and monuments bearing the imp... more In Belgium, there are a significant number of street names, statues and monuments bearing the imprint of Belgian colonisation, built in the effigy of colonial ‘heroes’ and once intended to serve a propagandist discourse. In an international socio-political context increasingly marked by the questioning of colonialism and Western imperialism, colonial references in the public space raise many questions and criticisms. Over the past fifteen years, this contested heritage has become a recurrent target of activist actions, sometimes taking the form of artistic interventions, with the aim of probing the historical representations of the colonial past in the country and the weight of this controversial legacy.
This article aims to analyse several art projects that attempted to question, divert and challenge the legitimacy of colonial symbols in the Belgian urban landscape. This was the case with the installation PeoPL (2018) by the Belgian-Rwandan artist Laura Nsengiyumva, an ice replica of the equestrian statue of Leopold II on the Place du Trône in Brussels, which refers to the omnipresence and heroisation of the royal figure in the Belgian capital. Another example concerns the project On Monumental Silences by Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, created and presented in Antwerp in 2018, whose main objective was to propose a ‘counter-monument’ to the statue of Belgian missionary Constant De Deken located in Wilrijk, which has long been criticised for its racist and stereotypical iconography. These two initiatives are indicative of current practices that tend to produce alternative readings and new plastic languages in response to the presence of colonial monuments in public space and the predominant Eurocentric vision that emanates from them.
Echoing the international movements of contestation of colonial statuary, which have taken an unprecedented turn since the death of Georges Floyd in May 2020, this article aims to examine the various issues at stake in such artistic actions, as well as the socio-political context in which they are inscribed. It will also measure the aesthetic and critical significance of these projects, while apprehending current art as a possible avenue of reflection and opening to the decolonization of urban space. This contribution will therefore allow us to question the participation of artists in decolonial struggles and in debates concerning the memory of the Belgian colonial past – a subject that is still particularly sensitive in view of the establishment, in June 2020, of the parliamentary “truth and reconciliation” commission on the colonisation of the Congo.
At the 2001 Venice Biennale, the famous Belgian artist Luc Tuymans decided to exhibit a series of... more At the 2001 Venice Biennale, the famous Belgian artist Luc Tuymans decided to exhibit a series of paintings titled "Mwana Kitoko (Beautiful White Man)" that dealt with the colonial past of his country. In a particular political context open to postcolonial reflection, Tuymans dared to show this delicate matter and thus politicized the Belgian Pavillon. Indeed, at that time, the colonial past began to lead to controversy in Belgium. Considering the position of "the artist as historian", this article seeks to determine the circumstances that led Tuymans to confront this subject as well as the impact of his exhibition in Venice.
Alisson BISSCHOP, « Revisiter l’archive coloniale – Les investigations de Sammy Baloji dans les c... more Alisson BISSCHOP, « Revisiter l’archive coloniale – Les investigations de Sammy Baloji dans les collections de l’AfricaMuseum à Tervuren et du Musée Rietberg à Zurich », Revue Proteus, n° 17, Esthétique et politique de l’archive en art, Cyrielle Lévêque et Mélodie Marull (coord.), 2021, p. 9-21.
Incarnant la figure de l’artiste en historien ou en chercheur, le plasticien congolais Sammy Baloji fonde l’essentiel de sa production sur des (ré)appropriations d’images et de documents archivistiques, en particulier ceux liés à la période coloniale belgo-congolaise. Au cours de sa carrière, il a investigué les collections et les archives de diverses institutions muséales, parmi lesquelles l’AfricaMuseum de Tervuren en Belgique et le Musée Rietberg en Suisse. Cet article entend mettre en évidence et analyser les travaux réalisés par l’artiste lors de résidences au sein de ces deux musées et montrés à l’occasion des expositions Congo Far West : Art, sciences et collections (Tervuren, 2011) et Congo as Fiction: Art Worlds between Past and Present (Zurich, 2019)
BISSCHOP Alisson, « L’histoire coloniale de la Belgique exposée à Venise : Luc Tuymans et la série Mwana Kitoko (Beautiful White Man) », in Histoire de l’art, 2017, n° 80, p. 125-136., 2017
At the 2001 Venice Biennale, the famous Belgian artist Luc Tuymans decided to exhibit a series of... more At the 2001 Venice Biennale, the famous Belgian artist Luc Tuymans decided to exhibit a series of paintings titled "Mwana Kitoko (Beautiful White Man)" that dealt with the colonial past of his country. In a particular political context open to postcolonial reflection, Tuymans dared to show this delicate matter and thus politicized the Belgian Pavillon. Indeed, at that time, the colonial past began to lead to controversy in Belgium. Considering the position of "the artist as historian", this article seeks to determine the circumstances that led Tuymans to confront this subject as well as the impact of his exhibition in Venice.
BISSCHOP, Alisson, Art contemporain et colonialisme : les artistes face à l'histoire coloniale de la Belgique au Congo (2000-2016), mémoire de master en Histoire de l'art, Université de Liège, 2017., 2017
"Contemporary art & colonialism: artists facing Belgium's colonial history in Congo (2000-2016)" ... more "Contemporary art & colonialism: artists facing Belgium's colonial history in Congo (2000-2016)" - Master's dissertation in History of Art (University of Liege)
Rome, Leverhulm Trust Conference "Post-colonial heritage in the present: museums, archives, art and activism", 2022
The Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, now called AfricaMuseum, reopened in December 20... more The Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, now called AfricaMuseum, reopened in December 2018 after a long period of renovation in order to rethink and “decolonize” the institution. The introduction of contemporary art was essential in this process; indeed, several artists were selected to take part in the museum's new permanent exhibition. This was the case with Aimé Mpane, one of the most active Congolese artists of his generation, who lives and works between Belgium and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Aimé Mpane's (threefold) proposal, located in the heart of the museum, in the stately rotunda – a place charged with history and once dedicated to colonial propaganda and the glorification of King Leopold II – was intended to be particularly engaged. The artist created two monumental wooden sculptures that refer, on the one hand, to the African continent and human dignity (Nouveau souffle ou le Congo bourgeonnant, 2016) and, on the other hand, to colonial brutality and violence through the image of the skull of the Congolese chief Lusinga (Crâne de Lusinga, 2019). In addition, Mpane has also chosen to invite and work in collaboration with the Belgian artist Jean-Pierre Müller, so they could provide a common look on a shared colonial heritage. Under the name RE/STORE (2019), the duo’s project aims to counterbalance the stereotypical colonial statues housed in the niches of the rotunda, by hanging a set of images on sixteen semi-transparent veils over it. The main objective of our contribution will be to analyze the artistic intervention of Aimé Mpane – and Jean-Pierre Müller – at the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren, while highlighting the different methods of re-appropriation, dismantling and critical revision of the colonial heritage employed by the artists. Through this specific example, we will also investigated the role of contemporary art and (diasporic) artists in the transformation of this former colonial museum, which has become a central issue in (international) debates about contested colonial heritage, diasporic identity and restitution.
ISELP, Institut Supérieur pour l'Étude du Langage Plastique, 2020
Cycle de conférences - ISELP Bruxelles - 4/03/2020
"En 2001, dans le pavillon belge à la Biennale... more Cycle de conférences - ISELP Bruxelles - 4/03/2020 "En 2001, dans le pavillon belge à la Biennale de Venise, l’artiste Luc Tuymans expose une série de toiles se référant explicitement à l’histoire coloniale de la Belgique au Congo, sous le titre Mwana Kitoko: Beautiful White Man. Il explore, par la voie de la peinture, une archive photographique relative à la visite du roi Baudouin au Congo, en 1955, et à l’assassinat de Patrice Lumumba, en 1961. Quelques années plus tard, Vincent Meessen choisit lui aussi d’investiguer cette période complexe de notre passé national, à travers une exposition collective et internationale intitulée Personne et les autres (2015). Il invite dix artistes de différents pays à exposer à ses côtés pour investiguer les héritages coloniaux, à l’appui cette fois de vidéos, d’installations, de photographies et d’archives. Si les propositions des deux artistes diffèrent à bien des égards, elles ont chacune eu l’audace d’aborder un sujet encore relativement tabou, celui du colonialisme, et ce dans l’une des manifestations d’art contemporain les plus célèbres au monde. L’exploration des interventions de Tuymans et Meessen permettra ainsi de revenir sur le contexte historique, politique et sociétal dans lequel elles s’inscrivent, tout en faisant le point sur les répercussions et l’impact de ces deux expositions emblématiques de l’histoire du pavillon belge à Venise."
Journée doctorale module "Histoire de l'art" ED4 F.R.S.-FNRS, 2019
Communication orale (non publiée) lors de la journée doctorale de l'ED4 F.R.S. F.N.R.S. (module "... more Communication orale (non publiée) lors de la journée doctorale de l'ED4 F.R.S. F.N.R.S. (module "Histoire de l'art"), Université catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve (UCL), le 20 septembre 2019.
Les artistes face à la question (post)coloniale belgo-congolaise en Belgique (1960-2020) / Artists facing the belgo-congolese (post)colonial question in Belgium (1960-2020), 2022
PhD in progress (2019-2022) - Thèse de doctorat en cours
History of Art, University of Liège (Bel... more PhD in progress (2019-2022) - Thèse de doctorat en cours History of Art, University of Liège (Belgium) - supervisor: prof. Julie Bawin Subject : Postcolonial art in Belgium ; Artists ; Colonial History ; Congo Title: "Les artistes face à la question (post)coloniale belgo-congolaise : l'histoire et l'héritage de la colonisation belge du Congo à l'épreuve de l'art contemporain en Belgique (1960-2020)" / "Artists facing the colonial question in Belgium: The history and legacy of the Belgian colonization of the Congo through contemporary artistic and curatorial practices, from the 1960s to the present day" Artists : Luc Tuymans ; Sammy Baloji ; Vincent Meessen ; Sven Augustijnen ; Jan Fabre ; Aimé Mpane ; Freddy Tsimba ; Jean-Pierre Müller ; Laura Nsengiyumva ; Ibrahim Mahama ; Maarten Vanden Eynde ; Wendy Morris (...)
La fabrique des collections : origines, trajectoires & reconnexions, 2023
BISSCHOP, Alisson, « ExItCongoMuseum : une tentative pionnière de décolonisation à Tervuren. Rega... more BISSCHOP, Alisson, « ExItCongoMuseum : une tentative pionnière de décolonisation à Tervuren. Regards croisés de Boris Wastiau et de Toma Muteba Luntumbue », dans GONDOLA, Didier, LACAILLE, Agnès, MUMBEMBELE, Placide et VAN BEURDEN, Sarah (éds.), (RE)MAKING COLLECTIONS: Origins, Trajectories & Reconnexions / La fabrique des collections : origines, trajectoires & reconnexions, Tervuren, Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale, 2023, p. 135-144.
In Belgium, there are a significant number of street names, statues and monuments bearing the imp... more In Belgium, there are a significant number of street names, statues and monuments bearing the imprint of Belgian colonisation, built in the effigy of colonial ‘heroes’ and once intended to serve a propagandist discourse. In an international socio-political context increasingly marked by the questioning of colonialism and Western imperialism, colonial references in the public space raise many questions and criticisms. Over the past fifteen years, this contested heritage has become a recurrent target of activist actions, sometimes taking the form of artistic interventions, with the aim of probing the historical representations of the colonial past in the country and the weight of this controversial legacy.
This article aims to analyse several art projects that attempted to question, divert and challenge the legitimacy of colonial symbols in the Belgian urban landscape. This was the case with the installation PeoPL (2018) by the Belgian-Rwandan artist Laura Nsengiyumva, an ice replica of the equestrian statue of Leopold II on the Place du Trône in Brussels, which refers to the omnipresence and heroisation of the royal figure in the Belgian capital. Another example concerns the project On Monumental Silences by Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, created and presented in Antwerp in 2018, whose main objective was to propose a ‘counter-monument’ to the statue of Belgian missionary Constant De Deken located in Wilrijk, which has long been criticised for its racist and stereotypical iconography. These two initiatives are indicative of current practices that tend to produce alternative readings and new plastic languages in response to the presence of colonial monuments in public space and the predominant Eurocentric vision that emanates from them.
Echoing the international movements of contestation of colonial statuary, which have taken an unprecedented turn since the death of Georges Floyd in May 2020, this article aims to examine the various issues at stake in such artistic actions, as well as the socio-political context in which they are inscribed. It will also measure the aesthetic and critical significance of these projects, while apprehending current art as a possible avenue of reflection and opening to the decolonization of urban space. This contribution will therefore allow us to question the participation of artists in decolonial struggles and in debates concerning the memory of the Belgian colonial past – a subject that is still particularly sensitive in view of the establishment, in June 2020, of the parliamentary “truth and reconciliation” commission on the colonisation of the Congo.
At the 2001 Venice Biennale, the famous Belgian artist Luc Tuymans decided to exhibit a series of... more At the 2001 Venice Biennale, the famous Belgian artist Luc Tuymans decided to exhibit a series of paintings titled "Mwana Kitoko (Beautiful White Man)" that dealt with the colonial past of his country. In a particular political context open to postcolonial reflection, Tuymans dared to show this delicate matter and thus politicized the Belgian Pavillon. Indeed, at that time, the colonial past began to lead to controversy in Belgium. Considering the position of "the artist as historian", this article seeks to determine the circumstances that led Tuymans to confront this subject as well as the impact of his exhibition in Venice.
Alisson BISSCHOP, « Revisiter l’archive coloniale – Les investigations de Sammy Baloji dans les c... more Alisson BISSCHOP, « Revisiter l’archive coloniale – Les investigations de Sammy Baloji dans les collections de l’AfricaMuseum à Tervuren et du Musée Rietberg à Zurich », Revue Proteus, n° 17, Esthétique et politique de l’archive en art, Cyrielle Lévêque et Mélodie Marull (coord.), 2021, p. 9-21.
Incarnant la figure de l’artiste en historien ou en chercheur, le plasticien congolais Sammy Baloji fonde l’essentiel de sa production sur des (ré)appropriations d’images et de documents archivistiques, en particulier ceux liés à la période coloniale belgo-congolaise. Au cours de sa carrière, il a investigué les collections et les archives de diverses institutions muséales, parmi lesquelles l’AfricaMuseum de Tervuren en Belgique et le Musée Rietberg en Suisse. Cet article entend mettre en évidence et analyser les travaux réalisés par l’artiste lors de résidences au sein de ces deux musées et montrés à l’occasion des expositions Congo Far West : Art, sciences et collections (Tervuren, 2011) et Congo as Fiction: Art Worlds between Past and Present (Zurich, 2019)
BISSCHOP Alisson, « L’histoire coloniale de la Belgique exposée à Venise : Luc Tuymans et la série Mwana Kitoko (Beautiful White Man) », in Histoire de l’art, 2017, n° 80, p. 125-136., 2017
At the 2001 Venice Biennale, the famous Belgian artist Luc Tuymans decided to exhibit a series of... more At the 2001 Venice Biennale, the famous Belgian artist Luc Tuymans decided to exhibit a series of paintings titled "Mwana Kitoko (Beautiful White Man)" that dealt with the colonial past of his country. In a particular political context open to postcolonial reflection, Tuymans dared to show this delicate matter and thus politicized the Belgian Pavillon. Indeed, at that time, the colonial past began to lead to controversy in Belgium. Considering the position of "the artist as historian", this article seeks to determine the circumstances that led Tuymans to confront this subject as well as the impact of his exhibition in Venice.
BISSCHOP, Alisson, Art contemporain et colonialisme : les artistes face à l'histoire coloniale de la Belgique au Congo (2000-2016), mémoire de master en Histoire de l'art, Université de Liège, 2017., 2017
"Contemporary art & colonialism: artists facing Belgium's colonial history in Congo (2000-2016)" ... more "Contemporary art & colonialism: artists facing Belgium's colonial history in Congo (2000-2016)" - Master's dissertation in History of Art (University of Liege)
Rome, Leverhulm Trust Conference "Post-colonial heritage in the present: museums, archives, art and activism", 2022
The Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, now called AfricaMuseum, reopened in December 20... more The Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, now called AfricaMuseum, reopened in December 2018 after a long period of renovation in order to rethink and “decolonize” the institution. The introduction of contemporary art was essential in this process; indeed, several artists were selected to take part in the museum's new permanent exhibition. This was the case with Aimé Mpane, one of the most active Congolese artists of his generation, who lives and works between Belgium and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Aimé Mpane's (threefold) proposal, located in the heart of the museum, in the stately rotunda – a place charged with history and once dedicated to colonial propaganda and the glorification of King Leopold II – was intended to be particularly engaged. The artist created two monumental wooden sculptures that refer, on the one hand, to the African continent and human dignity (Nouveau souffle ou le Congo bourgeonnant, 2016) and, on the other hand, to colonial brutality and violence through the image of the skull of the Congolese chief Lusinga (Crâne de Lusinga, 2019). In addition, Mpane has also chosen to invite and work in collaboration with the Belgian artist Jean-Pierre Müller, so they could provide a common look on a shared colonial heritage. Under the name RE/STORE (2019), the duo’s project aims to counterbalance the stereotypical colonial statues housed in the niches of the rotunda, by hanging a set of images on sixteen semi-transparent veils over it. The main objective of our contribution will be to analyze the artistic intervention of Aimé Mpane – and Jean-Pierre Müller – at the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren, while highlighting the different methods of re-appropriation, dismantling and critical revision of the colonial heritage employed by the artists. Through this specific example, we will also investigated the role of contemporary art and (diasporic) artists in the transformation of this former colonial museum, which has become a central issue in (international) debates about contested colonial heritage, diasporic identity and restitution.
ISELP, Institut Supérieur pour l'Étude du Langage Plastique, 2020
Cycle de conférences - ISELP Bruxelles - 4/03/2020
"En 2001, dans le pavillon belge à la Biennale... more Cycle de conférences - ISELP Bruxelles - 4/03/2020 "En 2001, dans le pavillon belge à la Biennale de Venise, l’artiste Luc Tuymans expose une série de toiles se référant explicitement à l’histoire coloniale de la Belgique au Congo, sous le titre Mwana Kitoko: Beautiful White Man. Il explore, par la voie de la peinture, une archive photographique relative à la visite du roi Baudouin au Congo, en 1955, et à l’assassinat de Patrice Lumumba, en 1961. Quelques années plus tard, Vincent Meessen choisit lui aussi d’investiguer cette période complexe de notre passé national, à travers une exposition collective et internationale intitulée Personne et les autres (2015). Il invite dix artistes de différents pays à exposer à ses côtés pour investiguer les héritages coloniaux, à l’appui cette fois de vidéos, d’installations, de photographies et d’archives. Si les propositions des deux artistes diffèrent à bien des égards, elles ont chacune eu l’audace d’aborder un sujet encore relativement tabou, celui du colonialisme, et ce dans l’une des manifestations d’art contemporain les plus célèbres au monde. L’exploration des interventions de Tuymans et Meessen permettra ainsi de revenir sur le contexte historique, politique et sociétal dans lequel elles s’inscrivent, tout en faisant le point sur les répercussions et l’impact de ces deux expositions emblématiques de l’histoire du pavillon belge à Venise."
Journée doctorale module "Histoire de l'art" ED4 F.R.S.-FNRS, 2019
Communication orale (non publiée) lors de la journée doctorale de l'ED4 F.R.S. F.N.R.S. (module "... more Communication orale (non publiée) lors de la journée doctorale de l'ED4 F.R.S. F.N.R.S. (module "Histoire de l'art"), Université catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve (UCL), le 20 septembre 2019.
Les artistes face à la question (post)coloniale belgo-congolaise en Belgique (1960-2020) / Artists facing the belgo-congolese (post)colonial question in Belgium (1960-2020), 2022
PhD in progress (2019-2022) - Thèse de doctorat en cours
History of Art, University of Liège (Bel... more PhD in progress (2019-2022) - Thèse de doctorat en cours History of Art, University of Liège (Belgium) - supervisor: prof. Julie Bawin Subject : Postcolonial art in Belgium ; Artists ; Colonial History ; Congo Title: "Les artistes face à la question (post)coloniale belgo-congolaise : l'histoire et l'héritage de la colonisation belge du Congo à l'épreuve de l'art contemporain en Belgique (1960-2020)" / "Artists facing the colonial question in Belgium: The history and legacy of the Belgian colonization of the Congo through contemporary artistic and curatorial practices, from the 1960s to the present day" Artists : Luc Tuymans ; Sammy Baloji ; Vincent Meessen ; Sven Augustijnen ; Jan Fabre ; Aimé Mpane ; Freddy Tsimba ; Jean-Pierre Müller ; Laura Nsengiyumva ; Ibrahim Mahama ; Maarten Vanden Eynde ; Wendy Morris (...)
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This article aims to analyse several art projects that attempted to question, divert and challenge the legitimacy of colonial symbols in the Belgian urban landscape. This was the case with the installation PeoPL (2018) by the Belgian-Rwandan artist Laura Nsengiyumva, an ice replica of the equestrian statue of Leopold II on the Place du Trône in Brussels, which refers to the omnipresence and heroisation of the royal figure in the Belgian capital. Another example concerns the project On Monumental Silences by Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, created and presented in Antwerp in 2018, whose main objective was to propose a ‘counter-monument’ to the statue of Belgian missionary Constant De Deken located in Wilrijk, which has long been criticised for its racist and stereotypical iconography. These two initiatives are indicative of current practices that tend to produce alternative readings and new plastic languages in response to the presence of colonial monuments in public space and the predominant Eurocentric vision that emanates from them.
Echoing the international movements of contestation of colonial statuary, which have taken an unprecedented turn since the death of Georges Floyd in May 2020, this article aims to examine the various issues at stake in such artistic actions, as well as the socio-political context in which they are inscribed. It will also measure the aesthetic and critical significance of these projects, while apprehending current art as a possible avenue of reflection and opening to the decolonization of urban space. This contribution will therefore allow us to question the participation of artists in decolonial struggles and in debates concerning the memory of the Belgian colonial past – a subject that is still particularly sensitive in view of the establishment, in June 2020, of the parliamentary “truth and reconciliation” commission on the colonisation of the Congo.
Incarnant la figure de l’artiste en historien ou en chercheur, le plasticien congolais Sammy Baloji fonde l’essentiel de sa production sur des (ré)appropriations d’images et de documents archivistiques, en particulier ceux liés à la période coloniale belgo-congolaise. Au cours de sa carrière, il a investigué les collections et les archives de diverses institutions muséales, parmi lesquelles l’AfricaMuseum de Tervuren en Belgique et le Musée Rietberg en Suisse. Cet article entend mettre en évidence et analyser les travaux réalisés par l’artiste lors de résidences au sein de ces deux musées et montrés à l’occasion des expositions Congo Far West : Art, sciences et collections (Tervuren, 2011) et Congo as Fiction: Art Worlds between Past and Present (Zurich, 2019)
"En 2001, dans le pavillon belge à la Biennale de Venise, l’artiste Luc Tuymans expose une série de toiles se référant explicitement à l’histoire coloniale de la Belgique au Congo, sous le titre Mwana Kitoko: Beautiful White Man. Il explore, par la voie de la peinture, une archive photographique relative à la visite du roi Baudouin au Congo, en 1955, et à l’assassinat de Patrice Lumumba, en 1961. Quelques années plus tard, Vincent Meessen choisit lui aussi d’investiguer cette période complexe de notre passé national, à travers une exposition collective et internationale intitulée Personne et les autres (2015). Il invite dix artistes de différents pays à exposer à ses côtés pour investiguer les héritages coloniaux, à l’appui cette fois de vidéos, d’installations, de photographies et d’archives. Si les propositions des deux artistes diffèrent à bien des égards, elles ont chacune eu l’audace d’aborder un sujet encore relativement tabou, celui du colonialisme, et ce dans l’une des manifestations d’art contemporain les plus célèbres au monde. L’exploration des interventions de Tuymans et Meessen permettra ainsi de revenir sur le contexte historique, politique et sociétal dans lequel elles s’inscrivent, tout en faisant le point sur les répercussions et l’impact de ces deux expositions emblématiques de l’histoire du pavillon belge à Venise."
History of Art, University of Liège (Belgium) - supervisor: prof. Julie Bawin
Subject : Postcolonial art in Belgium ; Artists ; Colonial History ; Congo
Title: "Les artistes face à la question (post)coloniale belgo-congolaise : l'histoire et l'héritage de la colonisation belge du Congo à l'épreuve de l'art contemporain en Belgique (1960-2020)" / "Artists facing the colonial question in Belgium: The history and legacy of the Belgian colonization of the Congo through contemporary artistic and curatorial practices, from the 1960s to the present day"
Artists : Luc Tuymans ; Sammy Baloji ; Vincent Meessen ; Sven Augustijnen ; Jan Fabre ; Aimé Mpane ; Freddy Tsimba ; Jean-Pierre Müller ; Laura Nsengiyumva ; Ibrahim Mahama ; Maarten Vanden Eynde ; Wendy Morris (...)
This article aims to analyse several art projects that attempted to question, divert and challenge the legitimacy of colonial symbols in the Belgian urban landscape. This was the case with the installation PeoPL (2018) by the Belgian-Rwandan artist Laura Nsengiyumva, an ice replica of the equestrian statue of Leopold II on the Place du Trône in Brussels, which refers to the omnipresence and heroisation of the royal figure in the Belgian capital. Another example concerns the project On Monumental Silences by Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, created and presented in Antwerp in 2018, whose main objective was to propose a ‘counter-monument’ to the statue of Belgian missionary Constant De Deken located in Wilrijk, which has long been criticised for its racist and stereotypical iconography. These two initiatives are indicative of current practices that tend to produce alternative readings and new plastic languages in response to the presence of colonial monuments in public space and the predominant Eurocentric vision that emanates from them.
Echoing the international movements of contestation of colonial statuary, which have taken an unprecedented turn since the death of Georges Floyd in May 2020, this article aims to examine the various issues at stake in such artistic actions, as well as the socio-political context in which they are inscribed. It will also measure the aesthetic and critical significance of these projects, while apprehending current art as a possible avenue of reflection and opening to the decolonization of urban space. This contribution will therefore allow us to question the participation of artists in decolonial struggles and in debates concerning the memory of the Belgian colonial past – a subject that is still particularly sensitive in view of the establishment, in June 2020, of the parliamentary “truth and reconciliation” commission on the colonisation of the Congo.
Incarnant la figure de l’artiste en historien ou en chercheur, le plasticien congolais Sammy Baloji fonde l’essentiel de sa production sur des (ré)appropriations d’images et de documents archivistiques, en particulier ceux liés à la période coloniale belgo-congolaise. Au cours de sa carrière, il a investigué les collections et les archives de diverses institutions muséales, parmi lesquelles l’AfricaMuseum de Tervuren en Belgique et le Musée Rietberg en Suisse. Cet article entend mettre en évidence et analyser les travaux réalisés par l’artiste lors de résidences au sein de ces deux musées et montrés à l’occasion des expositions Congo Far West : Art, sciences et collections (Tervuren, 2011) et Congo as Fiction: Art Worlds between Past and Present (Zurich, 2019)
"En 2001, dans le pavillon belge à la Biennale de Venise, l’artiste Luc Tuymans expose une série de toiles se référant explicitement à l’histoire coloniale de la Belgique au Congo, sous le titre Mwana Kitoko: Beautiful White Man. Il explore, par la voie de la peinture, une archive photographique relative à la visite du roi Baudouin au Congo, en 1955, et à l’assassinat de Patrice Lumumba, en 1961. Quelques années plus tard, Vincent Meessen choisit lui aussi d’investiguer cette période complexe de notre passé national, à travers une exposition collective et internationale intitulée Personne et les autres (2015). Il invite dix artistes de différents pays à exposer à ses côtés pour investiguer les héritages coloniaux, à l’appui cette fois de vidéos, d’installations, de photographies et d’archives. Si les propositions des deux artistes diffèrent à bien des égards, elles ont chacune eu l’audace d’aborder un sujet encore relativement tabou, celui du colonialisme, et ce dans l’une des manifestations d’art contemporain les plus célèbres au monde. L’exploration des interventions de Tuymans et Meessen permettra ainsi de revenir sur le contexte historique, politique et sociétal dans lequel elles s’inscrivent, tout en faisant le point sur les répercussions et l’impact de ces deux expositions emblématiques de l’histoire du pavillon belge à Venise."
History of Art, University of Liège (Belgium) - supervisor: prof. Julie Bawin
Subject : Postcolonial art in Belgium ; Artists ; Colonial History ; Congo
Title: "Les artistes face à la question (post)coloniale belgo-congolaise : l'histoire et l'héritage de la colonisation belge du Congo à l'épreuve de l'art contemporain en Belgique (1960-2020)" / "Artists facing the colonial question in Belgium: The history and legacy of the Belgian colonization of the Congo through contemporary artistic and curatorial practices, from the 1960s to the present day"
Artists : Luc Tuymans ; Sammy Baloji ; Vincent Meessen ; Sven Augustijnen ; Jan Fabre ; Aimé Mpane ; Freddy Tsimba ; Jean-Pierre Müller ; Laura Nsengiyumva ; Ibrahim Mahama ; Maarten Vanden Eynde ; Wendy Morris (...)