LES TÉMOINS DU MANQUE

10 &11/06 from 12h00-17h00 (expo)
location: Drie Gapers, Ostend
Trigger Warning: mutilation, violence

LES TÉMOINS DU MANQUE is an exhibition consisting of just 2 elements: a sculpture and a poem.

The sculpture is a replica of the hand that was removed from the collosal statue that stands at only a few meters from the pedestal. The statue, that glorifies colonial reign over DR Congo, was ‘corrected’ by a group of Ostend activists. They cut off the bronze hand of one of the depicted nameless Congolese people who look up at king Leopold II in gratitude. According to the activists, the statue now reflects the history of exploitation, mutiliation and slavery more accurately.

The poem is a part of the speech that Marie Paul Mugeni envisions performing when the statue of Leopold II will ceremonialy be removed. After suggesting that Belgium follows the example of DR Congo - where monuments have been relocated to a museum in the early 2000’s already - her heartfelt speech connects the continued presence of colonial monuments to the ongoing of racial violence in today’s society by addressing police brutality and the Black Lives Matter manifestations in Brussels of June 2020.

w/ Marie Paule Mugeni & Piet Wittevrongel