Middelheimmuseum

This is a detail from Congoville, a free temporary exhibition at the open air museum Middelheimpark. Scroll to see further details. In the exhibition,15 artists who were selected by the Belgian-Congolese art historian Sandrine Colard, show their vision on Congoville and the colonial traces in our society. Special focus lies on the former Colonial College of Belgium whose building next to the Middelheimpark is now owned by University Antwerp. Foundet in 1920 and closed in 1962, it trained top civil servants to run the Belgian colonies. The garden also contains the director's villa in colonial style. This photo shows the work of artist Maurice Mbikayi and is called ‘The Aesthetic Observer (2021) ‘. Maurice Mbikayic, born in 1974 in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo), lives and works in Cape Town (South Africa). In the clothing of this figure we see keys from old computer keyboards. It refers to the raw materials needed in today's technology. The workers who extract the ores from the ground in Congo are still exploited thus enabling the Western way of life. Afterwards, the West often dumps the materials back in Africa as toxic waste. By using this dumped materials in his art, Mbikayi denounces this reprehensible situation. At the same time it honorees the resilience of the African people, who have found endless ways to make the most of limited resources. The dandy-like character of the figure refers to the Sapeurs from Brazzaville-Congo who are members of ‘La Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes’ which means that they belong to ‘the elite of élégance’. They parade across the street like peacocks in striking clothing and create flamboyant identities for themselves showing they haven’t lost their free spirit and self respect. #modernart #sculpturepark #antwerp #antwerpen #middelheimmuseum #instantwerpen #vakantieineigenland #artpark #park #stadantwerpen #museum #terras #summertime #middelheim #visitantwerp #themepark#zoo#nationalpark#lakes