Contemporary art as a “decolonial” process: The intervention of the visual artist Aimé Mpane at the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren

The Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, now called AfricaMuseum, reopened in December 2018 after a long period of renovation in order to rethink and “decolonize” the institution. The introduction of contemporary art was essential in this process; indeed, several artists were selected to take part in the museum's new permanent exhibition. This was the case with Aimé Mpane, one of the most active Congolese artists of his generation, who lives and works between Belgium and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Aimé Mpane's (threefold) proposal, located in the heart of the museum, in the stately rotunda – a place charged with history and once dedicated to colonial propaganda and the glorification of King Leopold II – was intended to be particularly engaged. The artist created two monumental wooden sculptures that refer, on the one hand, to the African continent and human dignity (Nouveau souffle ou le Congo bourgeonnant, 2016) and, on the other hand, to colonial brutality and violence through the image of the skull of the Congolese chief Lusinga (Crâne de Lusinga, 2019). In addition, Mpane has also chosen to invite and work in collaboration with the Belgian artist Jean-Pierre Müller, so they could provide a common look on a shared colonial heritage. Under the name RE/STORE (2019), the duo’s project aims to counterbalance the stereotypical colonial statues housed in the niches of the rotunda, by hanging a set of images on sixteen semi-transparent veils over it. The main objective of our contribution will be to analyze the artistic intervention of Aimé Mpane – and Jean-Pierre Müller – at the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren, while highlighting the different methods of re-appropriation, dismantling and critical revision of the colonial heritage employed by the artists. Through this specific example, we will also investigated the role of contemporary art and (diasporic) artists in the transformation of this former colonial museum, which has become a central issue in (international) debates about contested colonial heritage, diasporic identity and restitution.