Aimé Mpane
Born during the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko, his early life in the DRC and the atrocities committed by King Leopold II and the Belgians have heavily influenced his work.
Mpane has been called "one of the most important artists of African origin to this day" and has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Africa, Europe, and North America.
His work in creating a sculpture in the Royal Museum for Central Africa, now called the AfricaMuseum, to replace a statue of Leopold that was removed during a major renovation was covered in many articles.
His work, New Breath, or the Burgeoning Congo, was meant to "balance" the racist statues and imagery found in the museum's Great Rotunda.
The books portrayed King Leopold II, who was responsible for the deaths of millions of Congo Free State citizens, as a great leader.
He visited the Royal Museum for Central Africa, now known as the AfricaMuseum, and saw the Congolese portrayed as savage people who needed help from white Belgians.
[6] Mpane's work is inspired by the relations between the DRC and Belgium, specifically the time during the Congo Free State and the way racism has played a large role in them.
In addition to typical sculpture work, Mpane carves portraits into wood, creates mosaic wall hangings, and paints.
[5][9] An article in the journal, Black Renaissance/Renaissance Noire, published by New York University's Institute of African American Affairs, began with this summary of Mpane's work:[10] "Aimé Mpané's work embodies the pain and grace of human conflict that draws from an informed political consciousness and an awareness of Africa's colonial history.
The history of his homeland - Democratic Republic of Congo - with the brutalities instigated during the 19th century by King Leopold II of Belgium, continuing through die legacy of colonialism and the ensuing ravages of war and economic missteps in the postcolonial period, leaves deep and tragic residuals of trauma in the memory of the Congolese people."
Some of his first solo exhibitions took place in Lubumbashi, the 8th Havana Biennial, the Dakar Biennale, where he won the 2006 Jean-Paul Blachère Foundation's Critics Prize, and New York City.
[6] The Village Voice noted his works' use of shadow play and a grave that reads "Congo-1885", the year the Berlin Conference took place, when European countries decided how to carve up Africa for their respective empires.
[6] Mpane's exhibition at the French Cultural Center in Kinshasa took place soon before the DRC's 50th anniversary of independence and included 60 paintings and a video installation.
In his painting IC.Cont #65, the Nike Swoosh is on a boy's forehead, which Mpane describes as a symbol of Mobutu's repression of Western influences and his clothing regulations.
According to him, Mpane "navigate[s] between two cultures permanently" and is "fundamentally based on identity and wounds in the Congolese memory", especially the stereotypes Belgians have of Africa and its people.
Changes made to the museum, with assistance from the United Nations Human Rights Council, included renaming it to the AfricaMuseum, highlighting the atrocities committed by Belgians, including the human zoo first created during the 1897 Brussels International Exposition, where white people watched Congolese people live in a recreated "village", and highlighting modern African art.
[4][17] At the encouragement of Guido Gryseels, Mpane entered into a competition to design an artwork that would replace a statue of King Leopold II in the museum's Great Rotunda.
[18] His winning sculpture, New Breath, or the Burgeoning Congo, is 4.9 meters (16 ft) tall and depicts an African man's head, made of wood, looking up, placed on a bronze pedestal in the shape of Africa.
Because racist statues and symbols are built into the museum's walls, there was continued criticism, including from a United Nations work group, that the new approach did not go far enough.
