Gent –
The Ghent city theater NTGent opens its doors again after six months. A very striking work of art is unveiled in the entrance hall: a depiction of a rape in colonial Congo. “You have to show the horror to understand the revolt.”
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The work is called ‘Forced Love’, is made from cocoa beans and is an explicit depiction of a rape in 1931 in Lusanga, Congo. “We discussed this in-house”, says Tom Declerq of NTGent. “It’s an explicit image, and it can come across as unfriendly to women.”
“The work was made by artist Irene Kanga, a woman and a Congolese. She believes that you have to show the horror to understand the revolt. We can get in there. “
–Iconoclasm
“After the ‘iconoclasm’ against Leopold II, it only became clearer to us that the theme is alive in a city like Ghent and that we would like to respond to it”, says Declercq. “With performances such as ‘Black’ and ‘Compassion or the history of the machine gun’ we have already taken the first steps to reopen the decolonization debate in our theater.”
“Context is everything: at the inauguration, Bambi Ceuppens of the Africa Museum will explain the historical events of the 1930s in Congo.”
“We are also pleased to know that the money we used to purchase the artwork will go to the CATPC organization (Cercle d’art des travailleurs de plantation congolaise), of which Kanga is a member. The organization is buying back Congolese agricultural land, where exploitation is rampant, from the large companies. ”
–Traveling
NTGent has bought the work, but it may still travel around the city. For example, KASK, SKI and UGent have already shown interest in exhibiting it. The work is not edible, although you will immediately notice the cocoa scent if you take a closer look.
NTGent opens a new theater season on October 1 with the unveiling of ‘Forced Love’ followed by the performance ‘Just Asking’ www.ntgent.be
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