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The Dutch Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia was officially opened on Wednesday 17 April by Director-General Barbera Wolfsenberger. The Dutch entry, The International Celebration of Blasphemy and The Sacred, is a presentation by Congolese artist collective Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise (CATPC). Created in collaboration with artist Renzo Martens and curator Hicham Khalidi, it highlights CATPC’s endeavour to reclaim the sacred forests of Lusanga, along with their broader mission of spiritual, ethical and economic reckoning.
Simultaneously with the opening in Venice, the opening of the White Cube in Lusanga, Congo – CATPC’s home base – took place. For both exhibitions, CATPC created new artworks from the earth of the last remaining forests around the plantation, which were then reproduced in palm oil and cocoa.
In anticipation of the exhibition, CATPC submitted a loan request for the ancestral sculpture Balot to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) which was approved earlier this year. Last March, Balot was welcomed back to Lusanga by CATPC and their community. The sculpture will be on view in Venice via a livestream with the White Cube in Lusanga where the sculpture is on display during La Biennale di Venezia.
In addition, 3 new films have been made as part of the exhibition: The Judgement of the White Cube, CATPC and The Return of Balot. The films can be seen in the Dutch pavilion in Venice.
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