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BOOMERANG: Pascale Marthine Tayou 24 june — 20 SEPT ’15 Wherever he finds himself – in his home country of Cameroon, in his studio in Ghent or working on the installation of an international group exhibition – Pascale Marthine Tayou takes a careful look around him and forges links with his immediate environment. He collects material, integrates it into his oeuvre and imbues it with new meaning in concise, poetic arrangements. The title of this exhibition is BOOMERANG, referring both to an object that returns to its source and to the consequences of human activities which threaten to strike us head on. Individual and community, and the local and the global, come together in his work. Through his art, Tayou enters into a personal relationship with the world: the continents, the country, the city, the neighbourhood, the street, the house and the studio in which he operates. His extrovert art makes all manner of connections between the inner and the outside world. Or as Tayou himself puts it: “I make art because I think about the world. I ask myself who we are, what we are doing and what the consequences are for humanity. That is BOOMERANG.” As viewers, we are also drawn into this. “We are all boomerangs.” In order to articulate his approach, Tayou has invented a new ‘ism’: taudism. A taudis is a dirty place, a space that is poorly maintained. It can either be a house, an institution or a person. Relationships between people are often dirty, too. For Tayou, taudism is an attempt to impose order on the world, on the houses we live in, and also on himself. A visit to BOOMERANG is like going through a purification ritual.
This visitor’s guide throws Tayou’s boomerang up into the air six times. We divide his work into themes: ‘gender’, ‘tradition vs globalisation’, ‘ecology’, ‘colonialism’ and ‘conflict’. In each case we provide further explanations and illustrate them with works that you can view in the exhibition. We round off with ‘fashion’, which, along with contemporary art, is a central theme at BOZAR this summer. The division into themes has been done somewhat artificially, because almost all Tayou’s works address multiple themes simultaneously. Furthermore, the works are not ordered in this sequence at the Centre for Fine Arts. Take a look around for yourself, make your own connections and whatever you do, don’t forget to intercept the boomerang along the way. Enjoy yourself!
GENDER Pascale Marthine was born as Jean Apollinaire Tayou, but changed his first name to Pascale Marthine in the midnineties. Pascale and Marthine are the names of his parents. By feminising his name, the artist is playing with the perceived boundaries of gender. This collective term encompasses all the social and cultural characteristics of men and women, and all the non-biological characteristics within a society that determine whether you are a man or a woman. His feminised artist’s name makes you stop and think about the preconceptions that colour your gaze when you visit an exhibition by a female artist. These preconceptions do not generally correspond to what you actually see. From this, you can divine that inequality between men and women is not a natural construct, but a social one. Since stereotypes can differ from culture to culture and from age to age, you can also adjust them. By changing his name, the artist reveals how fickle a preconception can be.
1 Scene of Life, 2010
Miniature figures from Tayou’s wonderful world populate these showcases like butterflies. Every one of the couples is having sex; men with women or men with
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men. They switch roles and touch not only one another, but also the boundaries of their sexuality. The artist displays the bronze couples behind glass, and his aim is not to be provocative but to illustrate the poetry of love and everything that goes with it.
2 Graffiti Neon, 2015
These erotic scenes depicted in neon look as though they have been hastily scrawled like graffiti, but unlike your average graffiti artist, Tayou has no desire to communicate a critical message. By exhibiting a warmblooded subject in a chilly neon light, he adds a touch of tenderness and humour to a forgotten space.
TRADITION VS GLOBALISATION Traditional objects often make an appearance in this exhibition as fetish statues or African masks. If you take a closer look, you will recognise traditional shapes, but you can see that the objects are not fashioned from traditional materials. The artist replaces wood with glass, nails and goat’s blood with beads and plastic. He disconnects the masks and images from their traditional context and gives them a contemporary twist.
3 Africonda, 2014
Four masks with crystal eyes stare out at you from their twisted nest. Tayou’s interwoven snake is called Africonda and symbolises Africa. Its soft, candy-coloured body is stuffed with hay and exudes a sweet, earthy smell. It is reminiscent of the exotic Africa that is depicted in romantic films and documentaries. In the meantime, dark reality glides in through the hard wooden spikes that we see emerging from beneath the snake. “The work is not that cheerful, because the snake is eating its own tail”, explains the artist. This is an allusion to the eternal cycle of life in which everything returns, problems included.
4 Poupées Pascale, 2011
The artist goes in search of his African roots in the series Poupées Pascale. His ancestors would have decorated these figurines as part of rituals to heal the sick. He replaces the organic materials used in traditional decorations with coloured beads, plastic straws and kitchen equipment. The sculptures are the perfect example of what the French Antillean writer Édouard Glissant described as ‘creolisation’. Glissant used this term to explain that mixing the visual languages of different cultures creates unexpected creative strengths.
5 Colourful Line, 2014
In a jumble of brightly-coloured straws, Colourful Line writhes above your head. This sumptuous plastic cloud is reminiscent of a birthday party that has got out of hand, but the reality is different. By gluing straws together, Tayou draws a crooked line in the exhibition space. He asks himself what would happen if you were to join up a single line, interweave it with itself and let it collide. In this work, the line symbolises the border that is drawn between regions, countries or people. Tayou shows how pliable and relative a line can be.
6 Our Traditions, 2015
In amongst the plaited branches, you recognise objects that frequently reappear in the artist’s oeuvre: diamonds, crystal masks, fetish statues and disposable objects. Every household in Africa has a broom like these and you can also buy them for a euro at Belgian markets. This installation is especially interesting if you are unfamiliar with the traditional materials. Through the eyes of the Western viewer, the branches take on a different meaning. Banal brooms are transformed into artworks, and a cheap product becomes more valuable.
ECOLOGY Using humour and powerful imagery, Tayou expresses his concern for the great problems of the 21st century. Ecology is a striking presence in his work, especially the harmful influence that humans have on nature, and his engagement with these issues is expressed time and again in his art. He presents troubling figures about
pollution, and depicts the dark side of petroleum. When it comes to his choice of materials, Tayou’s passion for ecology is plain to see. If you look closely at his installations, you can make out plastic bags, used packaging, disposable items and found objects. The material speaks for itself. These are worthless objects that have been abandoned on the side of the road or are caught up in trees. Tayou uses them to create artworks and imbues them with an economic and ideological value. By saving materials that are normally disposed of, he attacks both our consumption-based society and our throwaway culture.
7 Citarum River, 2015
Rows of plastic bottles hang from the wall like a maze. They are transparent but not invisible, and you cannot find your way out of this labyrinth. The work is named after the Citarum River in Java, one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Each day, 2000 factories discharge dangerous quantities of lead, mercury, arsenic and other toxins into the water. The artist raises a difficult question: the local people need both the factory and the river to survive. This makes them both complicit in the river’s pollution and the victims of industry. In both cases, their fate is thrown back in their faces, like a boomerang.
8 Octopus, 2010
The form of Octopus can already be recognised from afar, with the petrol pump hoses hanging from the main body reminiscent of octopus tentacles. The long tubes are forcefully plaited together to form the beating heart of a jet-black creature. But this driving force of war and pollution conceals a dark message: the process of building up a civilisation goes hand in hand with its downfall.
EXPO
For Tayou, exhibiting is also about recreating. He sees the Centre for Fine Arts as a giant casserole in which he is preparing his exhibition from scratch, using a variety of herbs and a few new ingredients in slightly different configurations. His work boils over from the normal exhibition circuit into the corridors and central hall, and right up to the main entrance in Ravensteinstraat. In the rotunda, he is exhibiting a work that he has created especially for this exhibition: Bring Back Our Boys and Girls bq , spelled out in neon letters. The moment you enter the main exhibition, a world of associations opens up. The materials used in this exhibition are strikingly modest: recycling, existing African sculptures, masks, textiles, chocolate, crystal, and so on. And be sure to look at the way the materials have been adapted and combined. Tayou appropriates objects and raw materials in order to draw attention to and question the meanings that are ingrained in them.
Tayou juxtaposes the theme of tradition with the theme of globalisation, and barriers between societies, cultures and economies fall away. Thanks to contemporary media, we can communicate effortlessly with the other side of the world. After graduating, the artist travelled across borders, journeying from Cameroon to Stockholm, Paris and Belgium. Each time he moved on, he took something with him and left part of himself behind. He also crosses borders in his art. Tayou enlarges miniature images of African flâneurs or strollers a hundred times and dresses them in Western clothing.
9 Oléoduc, 2015
The waste water pipe used in this work weaves its way innocently through the exhibition space. This piece of plumbing takes a dramatic turn when the artist adds statistics to it that detail the most polluted places in the world. Tayou confronts you with the fact that poor countries suffer far more from environmental pollution than rich ones.
bk Plastic Tree, 2014
As you walk round the exhibition you have to zigzag between small trees that grow downwards from the ceiling. The leaves have been replaced by brightly coloured plastic bags. This work shows how the consumer society of the West is adversely affecting the ecological balance. It takes twenty years for nature to decompose a plastic bag. In the course of that time small particles of plastic end up in the food chain. These microplastics are a danger to man, animals and the environment. The ominous message conveyed by Plastic Tree is at odds with its lively, cheerful form.
COLONIALISM Tayou challenges Europe’s colonial past. In both the form his work takes and the materials he uses, you discover direct references to exploitation, slavery and all that is inextricably linked to Africa’s history. Reading between the lines, you discern three primary motivations for European colonisation. Political: every country wanted to own the largest piece of territory; economic: they all wanted to get their hands on as many markets, raw materials and workers as possible; naively humanitarian:
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they wanted to impose what they believed to be a superior culture on the indigenous peoples. Tayou reverses the roles, colonising the European trade routes, raw materials and culture. He colonises the image of the European in his Flâneurs de Montreuil (2010) bl . These portraits put white Europeans shoulder to shoulder with African woodcarvers. Instead of sculpting a Westerner, the carvers created sculptures of black men dressed as white men. Tayou enlarges these colonised images and has them parade through the Horta Hall in their outsized dimensions.
bm Coton Tige, 2015
A fluffy cotton cloud with pointed stakes is suspended from the ceiling of the Centre for Fine Arts. The soft cotton contrasts with the knotty wood of the stakes. Tayou starkly juxtaposes the light airiness of the shape with the significance of cotton production in the history of slavery: Coton Tige alludes to the fluffy cotton balls of the cotton-producing colonies. In order to control the trade in this ‘white gold’, countries such as France and England went to war at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
bn Code Noir, 2015
Tayou arranges five black silhouettes in a row like a barcode. They depict Africans dressed in Western outfits. At the time of European colonisation, it was not the barcode but the Code Noir that measured and valued people. In this law, the French king Louis XIV set out the rules that black slaves in the colonies were obliged to obey, and the decree remained in force until 1848. Today, it is not the Code Noir that organises our lives, but the barcode. Tayou regards the barcode as the symbol of the consumer society that rules our lives.
bo Black Diamonds, 2014
jagged metal diamonds dangle from fine cables suspended high up in the air. These Black Diamonds allude to the ‘blood diamonds’ that come from African conflict zones and are illegally traded in order to finance wars and conflicts. Considered in this light, you see these controversial jewels differently. Expensive earrings suddenly become warlike spears hanging menacingly above your head.
and the south. They work against and at the same time complement one another. The artist also focuses on conflicts in war zones and on the difficulties in relationships between men and women. He shines a spotlight on our inner conflicts and on the fundamental problems with which we wrestle from time to time. There is also conflict in the way in which he uses his colours and materials. He mixes hard and soft raw materials, and cheerful and gloomy shades. Rather than cancelling one another out, these conflicting elements add visual fireworks to his work.
bp Tug of War, 2010
A bronze sculpture of a naked, muscular African man braces himself to use all his strength to pull on a red thread. At the other end, a bronze sculpture of a naked European woman nonchalantly holds the thread between her index and middle fingers. You immediately see who is really pulling the strings. The message is clear: in a relationship between a man and a woman, conflicts are inevitable. The winner of the tug of war is the one who does not let go.
bq Bring Back Our Boys and Girls, 2015
Glowing in the rotunda of the Centre for Fine Arts is the artist’s most recent work. He made the neon letters Bring back our boys & girls especially for this exhibition. You’ll recognise the slogan from the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, the Twitter campaign which in April 2014 focussed attention on the abduction of 276 Nigerian schoolgirls by the terrorist organisation Boko Haram. Tayou has added the word ‘boys’ to this, as the boys of Boko Haram are also lost. Who or what can free these lost souls remains to be seen.
br David Crossing the Moon, 2015
Tayou superimposes the Star of David, the Christian cross and the Islamic crescent moon. The symbols of the three major monotheistic religions overlap. When you see them from a distance, the glow of the three colours makes them merge seamlessly into each other. The artist brings together in peace three religions that are currently clashing with each other.
FASHION
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Pascale Marthine Tayou also invites you to visit his Fashion Street bs . Life-size photos of fashion vendors immerse you in an African city. The vendors can be read both as walking shops and as models, and their bodies almost disappear beneath the layers of fabric. This inspired Tayou to create his Sauveteurs bt , large figures blown from crystal. The valuable glass contrasts with the burden of the material that the figures are carrying, bringing together the ethical and the aesthetic, the dirty and the pure. Tayou closely interweaves textiles and texture. With an eye to our Summer of Fashion, he has created a new series of four works called Saison d’amour ck , which is on display in the Horta Hall. They are fabric collages. It is as if the material was there for the taking. Most of the pieces of material are provided by his wife, the fashion designer jo De Visscher. Garments not only communicate a set of ideas about the personality of the wearer, but are also suggestive of an ethical awareness relating to their production and consumption. In the exhibition The Belgians. An unexpected fashion story, designers demonstrate this ethical and ecological awareness under the title ‘Valuable. The end of wastefulness’, touching upon fair fabrics and working conditions, natural materials, recycling, limiting our ecological footprint, openness in all areas of the production process, and so on. Fashion really does have an impact.
Photography allowed! Share your photos at @BOZAR
PASCALE MARTHINE TAYOU
— Born in Cameroon in 1966. — Has lived in Ghent for over twenty years. — Studied law in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital. — Self-taught. Has been working as an artist for over 25 years. — Exhibitions at MACRO in Rome, MuDAM in Luxemburg, SMAK in Ghent, etc. — Documenta 11 in Kassel in 2002 and Venice Biennale in 2005 and 2009. — BOOMERANG: previously on show at the Serpentine Galleries in London.
Welcome to our summer bar During the evening visits on Thursdays (25.6 > 16.7 and 20.8 > 17.9.2015) we are organising drinks, encounters and extra activities. You will find more details at www.bozar.be and on our Facebook page. Tickets €8 – 6 (BOZAR friends) The Belgians + Pascale Marthine Tayou: €14 – 12 (BOZAR friends) The Belgians + Pascale Marthine Tayou + Young Belgian Art Prize 2015: €16 – 14 (BOZAR friends) Catalogue Pascale Marthine Tayou. Boomerang (EN) On sale at the BOZAR BOuTIK €18 - 16 (BOZAR-friends) Text Compilers: Kurt De Boodt & Marianne Van Boxelaere Editor: Frederic Eelbode Translator: Gregory Ball Layout Olivier Rouxhet Production Serpentine Galleries, London with BOZAR
With the participation of GALLERIA CONTINuA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins / Habana
Supported by the Federal Public Service of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
CONFLICT The topic of conflict appears regularly in Tayou’s oeuvre. His images are loaded with a message that is at odds with their lighthearted form. For dramatic effect, the artist adds yin and yang to his work. These Chinese symbols represent opposing forces. Yin stands for femininity, the earth and the north, whilst yang symbolises masculinity, heaven
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