Ici on crève, 2006 – 2008
Pigment on wood
Series of 50 panels, each on 30 x 30 cm
Collection of the artist, courtesy of Skoto Gallery, New York
Photo credit: Thierry Bal
Congolese artist Aimé Mpane’s work primarily focuses on the legacy of colonialism in the African continent. By linking past and present in a visually cohesive narration, the artist encompasses almost two centuries of socio-political struggle. The history of his hometown Kinshasa – formerly known as the “city of Leopold” (Leopoldville or Leopoldstad) – is emblematic in this sense. To these days, the memory of the brutality performed during the 19th century by Leopold II, king of Belgium, is still vivid in the memory of the Congolese people. The scar left by his violent occupation painfully visible on the skin of the indigenous population.
Although these atrocities resound in Mpane’s oeuvre, he does not suggest self-pity as a tool for a change; awareness, solidarity and collective consciousness seeming more appropriate.
The artist’s sculptural installation entitled Congo, Shadow of the Shadow (2005) is exemplary in this sense. A standing figure made of 4,652 matchsticks (transparent and fragile) pensively looks at a wooden silhouette of a dead man that lays flat at his feet, as it were a gravestone. His silent presence is not only meditating on the past but proactively thinks forward, following the long shadow projected onto the floor.
The work of the artist is charged with history and emotions and “touches” us at different levels. It acts as a reminder, a tool of collective empowerment, and a quest for individual memory.
