We are proud to present the work of Fransix Tenda Lomba (Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, 1984). His practice spans drawing, painting, sculpture and animated video. He is a Rijksakademie alumnus and also graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa in 2006. Fransix is one of the principal artists of Kin Art Studio.
About the exhibition
His most wel known series is the research project ‘Le choc est là’, which is inspired by chocolate. The double meaning of the title refers to the cultural, economic, political, social and geopolitical shocks in the cocoa chain, which Fransix traces from the different places of origin of cocoa to the world of consumers.
By juxtaposing elements from his parents‘ personal archives depicting life in the Congo with visual material from the archives of the world‘s major chocolate companies, Fransix has created large-scale drawings that form the basis of his video animations. These works tell divergent, yet deeply intertwined, stories about the inter-human bond through the production and consumption of raw materials like cocoa – personal commentaries on the collective memories of post-colonial societies and the bittersweet reality that the pleasure of chocolate is fraught with suffering.
Chocolate figures
The painting ‘Joint power’, for example depicts Mary II, Queen of England (1689-1694), who married her cousins Willem van Oranje. She was a very popular sovereign. As was the chocolate a popular fruit of Europe's expansionist policy in Africa and South America. Mary left a mark on Dutch culture through her influence on ceramics, garden design and the historical figures she had made out of chocolate. Other paintings in the exhibition, for example ‘Crown’ show the historical production of cocoa farming. This paintings reflect the historical political and commercial responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, represented by a gold-plated crown, as its ports were and are large gateways to receive all the tons of cocoa beans in the world.
Central in the exhibition is an installation that reflects on another period in Congolese history, again he depicts this through the use of products. The work is made from aluminium cans, thrown on the ground in a commune of the city of Kinshasa, renowned for the presence of the factories that drove the city's economy from 1965 to 1980. With the installation Fransix commemorates two destructive looting operations in the 1990’s, when soldiers of the Zairo civil guard decided to help themselves after not being given their salaries. This situation brought anguish and stress to the population, and the tin cans bear witness to these troubled times. Fransix translated the anguish on the tin cans into the form of portraits supported by wooden sticks.
Fragment from 'Kelasi' a film by Fransix Tenda Lomba
The painting ‘Joint Power’ depicts Mary II, Queen of England (1689-1694), who married her cousins Willem van Oranje. She was a very popular monarch. As was chocolate the popular fruit of Europe's expansionist policy in Africa and South America. Mary made a mark on Dutch culture through her influence on ceramics, garden design and the historical figures she had made out of chocolate. The historical figures in Fransix's paintings also appear to be made of chocolate.
'Crown' shows the historical production of cocoa cultivation. This painting reflects the political and commercial responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, represented by a gold-plated crown, as its ports were and are large gateways to receive tons of cocoa beans.
The series of drawings ‘Our School’ uses an end-of-school-year report from Zaire between 1989 and 1990 as a backdrop. The seven drawings are a personal interpretation of the atmosphere that prevailed in Kinshasa's urban education department before it was looted in 1990. We see teachers preparing written reports. Today, the education sector still suffers from the effects of this looting. As a result, teachers still write their reports by hand as digitalisation is not yet widespread.
The lines used to draw the characters on the reports are inspired by palm lines and the lines of school notebooks. The intertwined lines reflect the different experiences each person has undergone. The characters wear cooking pots on their heads. The Congolese firepot 'Mbabola', a handmade pot made of recycled aluminium and the Moroccan tagine. These objects show the culture of sharing that exists around the world.
The installation ‘Bana Ya Limete’, reflects on an important period in Congolese history. Once again, Fransix depicts this through the use of products. The work is made from aluminium cans, thrown on the ground in a commune of the city of Kinshasa, known for the presence of the factories that drove the city's economy from 1965 to 1980. With the installation the artist commemorates two destructive looting operations in the 1990’s, when soldiers of the Zaire civil guard decided to help themselves after not being given their salaries. This situation brought anguish and stress to the population and the tin cans bear witness to these troubled times. Fransix translated the people's fear into the cans by shaping them as portraits, supported by wooden sticks.
Fransix Tenda Lomba (1984, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo)
EDUCATION
2021 - 2023: Rijksakademie Van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam, Netherlands
2003-2006: Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo
1998-2003: Institute of Fine Arts in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo
RESIDENCY
February 2024: Jardin Rouge (Montresso Foundation) in Marrakech, Morocco
April 2021: Atelier Mondial in Basel, Switzerland
March 2020: Atelier Graphoui in Brussels, Belgium
November 2019: Jardin Rouge (Montresso Foundation) in Marrakech, Morocco
February 2018: Permanent residency at Kin Art Studio in Kinshasa
. September 2017: Permanent residency at Kin Art Studio in Kinshasa
June 2016: Art Omi International Artist Residency in New York, USA
January 2016: Kin Art Studio in Kinshasa, R.D Congo
April 2015: Kin Art Studio in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo
February 2013: Master Art Class Video2 organised by Art Bakary in Douala, Cameroon
September 2012: Residency at SAHM workshops in Brazzaville
August 2012: Residency at Kin Art Studio in Kinshasa, R.D Congo
EXHIBITIONS
April 2024: Solo show at EENWERK Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands (coming up)
November 2023: Solo show at Galerie Fleur & Wouter, Amsterdam, Netherlands
June 2023: Open Studio Rijksakademie, Amsterdam, Netherlands
April 2023: Solo show at Galerie Voss "Historical Shock", Düsseldorf, Germany
September 2022: Congo Biennale "Souffles des Ancêtres" Kinshasa, DR.Congo
June 2022: Open Studio Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, Netherlands
November 2021: Solo exhibition at AKAA, Paris, France.
November 2021: Collective exhibition "Slowly Coming" at Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel, Switzerland
March 2021: Group exhibition at the French Institute in Maputo, Mozambique
February 2020: Collective exhibition In- Discipline at Jardin Rouge (F. Montresso), Marrakech, Morocco
September 2019: Collective exhibition "Congo Biennale", Kinshasa, DR. Congo
December 2018: Collective exhibition Megalopolis-voices of Kinshasa at GRASSI Museum, Leipzig, Germany
September 2017: Collective exhibition Young Congo at the French Institute, Kinshasa, DR. Congo
September 2017: Major exhibition Young Congo at Kin Art Studio, Kinshasa, DR. Congo
October 2016: Nomadic Video Festival, Njelele Art Station, Harare, Zimbabwe
October 2016: group exhibition, Five Myles Gallery, Crown Heights Film Festival, Brooklyn, USA
July 2016: Open Studio at Artomi (group show), New York, USA
May 2015: Collective exhibition in Off at the 11th Dak'art Biennale, Dakar, Senegal
July 2015: Solo exhibition at the Mobile Gallery at l'espace Public, Kinshasa / Limeté, DR. Congo
January 2013: Solo exhibition "New Énergy" at Kin Art Studio, Centre d'art Kinshasa, DR. Congo
October 2013: Collective exhibition "OTHERIS" at the Biennale of Lubumbashi, DR. Congo
February 2013: Collective exhibition at Doual'art, Douala, Cameroon
November 2012: Collective Exhibition at the French Institute of Brazzaville, DR. Congo
November 2011: Collective exhibition Afropolis. City, Media, Art, Bayreuth, Germany
November 2011: Collective exhibition at the Rautenstrauch Joest Museum, Cologne, Germany
October 2010: Collective exhibition " TO ZO KENDE WAPI ? " at the 27th editions of Festival International de la Francophonie in Limousin, France
October 2009: Collective exhibition " TO ZO KENDE WAPI ? " at the French Institute of Kinshasa, DR. Congo
Galerie Fleur & Wouter
Van Ostadestraat 43A, Amsterdam
Thu - Su 12.00 - 18.00 & by appointment
info@galeriefleurenwouter.com
+316-57748299