White Cube tells a story about how art can be an ally to a community constricted by neo-colonialism. The feature-length film directed by Renzo Martens documents the formation of Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise (CATPC), and how they mobilised their artwork, to bring economic and ecological growth back to their community. The film is set to premiere in Lusanga, Democratic Republic of Congo, and in the international feature film competition at the IDFA film festival in Amsterdam, this November. 

The sculptures are first made using mud and are then 3D scanned and reproduced in cocoa and palm oil in Amsterdam. One sculpture by artist Irene Kanga titled “Forced Love”, depicts a brutal rape to symbolise the catalyst of the Congo Revolt of 1960. 

The artwork is then exhibited in museums and art galleries worldwide and the money from these exhibitions is reinvested back into the community. The White Cube sits on a Lusanga plantation as a pillar for a different future, surrounded by new ecological growth.

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“Land or art. If I would have to choose, I would choose both. But if I really have to choose only one, I would choose the land. Where can I put my chair and start making art, if I do not own the land?” – Matthieu Kilapi Kasiama, CATPC.

Renzo’s film and the work of the CATPC, brings light to the complex relationship between the Congolese plantations and the art world. With reports of profits extracted from these plantations to fund museums and galleries such as Tate Modern, the question presides: can these museums ever be truly inclusive when reparations have not been paid to plantation workers who have financed these very institutions? 

“Is there any way, for working people, for the working class to benefit from art? Is there any way for gentrification to be reversed?” – Renzo Martens

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Tags: Art, exhibition