by A sculpture depicting the angry spirit of a Belgian officer deposed during a 1930s rebellion in the Congo will be on display at the Dutch pavilion of this year’s Venice Biennale, seeking to spark a debate about colonial blind spots in the art world – and the Belgian Pavilion next. door
The carved wooden figure of colonial administrator Maximilien Balot will not be physically present at the world’s largest art event: a screen will show a live stream from a gallery in Lusanga, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the artifact will be held. displayed for six months of the festival.
The current owner, the Virginia Museum of Art (VMFA), confirmed on Monday that the Dutch pavilion’s plans prompted him to loan the sculpture to the Congolese gallery from April, responding to years of pleas for it to temporarily return to its place of origin. .
“Wherever the statue of Balot goes, it will generate a debate, not only about the restoration of art, but above all about the restoration of the land,” said Ced’art Tamasala, one of the Congolese artists working on the Dutch Pavilion.
Balot was destroyed and expelled during the Pende uprising of 1931 against Belgian colonial rule in the Kwilu province of the Congo, which led to the rape of a Pende woman and the subsequent torture and killing of hundreds of Pende.
After the violent crackdown, the officer’s widow was quoted as saying, although her husband was killed in the most horrific manner. […] I understand their rebellion”.
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Expressionist in form, with a narrow face and protruding eyes, it is believed that the figure was carved within a few weeks of the death of Balot, when the Pende believed that he had driven out the foreign invaders and before the retaliatory troops arrived. As an object of power, it would later be charged by a ritual specialist with the spirit of the deceased officer in an attempt to harness his anger. The name of its creator is unknown.
American scholar Herbert Weiss bought the statue for $120 (£95) while on a field trip to Lusanga in 1972, and it was legally sold to the VMFA in 2015.
In recent years an art collective in Lusanga, the Congolese Plantation Workers Art League (CATPC), has attempted to borrow the statue. However, his temporary move did not materialize until Renzo Martens, a Dutch artist who facilitated the establishment of the collective, was asked to design the Dutch pavilion at the 60th iteration of the Biennale di Venezia.
The sculpture is expected to be on public display at the White Cube gallery in Lusanga from 20 April to 24 November 2024, coinciding with the international art exhibition.
The loan costs are paid for by the Mondriaan Fund, a foundation responsible for the Netherlands’ entry to the Biennale, although the VMFA curator will accompany the artwork in transit and oversee its installation.
Alex Nyerges, CEO and director of the VMFA, said: “The loan of a wooden sculpture from an American museum collection to a museum in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is also of historical significance, and we hope it will spark a new era. collaboration and partnerships between museums on both continents.”
As well as displaying a live stream of Balot’s sculptures, the Dutch pavilion will feature several sculptures made from palm oil, sugar and chocolate, depicting scenes from the Pende uprising.
Located on the west side of the Giardini della Biennale, the Dutch pavilion is about 5 meters from its Belgian counterpart, and Martens said that the screen showing the Balot statue would be positioned so that the audience would face the nearby building.
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In 1885, Leopold II, then king of Belgium, laid claim to most of the Congo Basin and implemented a system of ruthless economic exploitation. Congo did not gain independence until 1960, and it took another twenty years for King Philippe of Belgium to express his “greatest regret” for the violence committed during his country’s rule.
The Petticoat Government collective will represent Belgium at the art event, with a show featuring popular themes about folkloric giants from Belgium, France and Spain. Meanwhile, the DRC has never had a pavilion at the Biennale.
Tamasala said: “Belgium has benefited greatly from forced labor on the plantations in the Congo; it is his duty to ensure that the long-standing injustice that has alienated the museum’s co-financiers ends.”
