Memorial monument ‘The Congo, I presume?’

This group of sculptures was placed in 1998 at the initiative of local history circles from Tervuren by the Buildings Agency. The sculpture group does not belong to the heritage of the AfricaMuseum. It was initially the intention to move the sculpture group elsewhere, closer to the center of Tervuren. In the end, the municipality and the Buildings Agency decided to place the sculpture group in the French garden behind the museum.

The artist did not provide the AfricaMuseum with the following text until 2018.

The title, "The Congo I Presume," parodies Henry Morton Stanley's words when meeting David Livingstone: "Dr Livingstone I presume?"
The sculpture group is set up in a water feature, the whole refers to the African village that was set up on the water during the exhibition of 1897. Seven African extras died of pneumonia.
The images in the water feature evoke this Congolese village, where both exotic animals and 'exotic' people were exhibited in a 'human zoo'.
The play of stone blocks refers to Leopold II's nickname as 'King Builder'.
The elephant and the lion symbolize the beautiful and mighty Congolese nature with its rich underground.
As a migratory bird, eight flamingos symbolize the Congolese diaspora.
In the middle of this evocation of nature: the bust of Leopold II, owner of the Congo Free State and for the Congolese: the undisputed 'father of the country'.
On the back of the bust: a peacock with gracefully spread feathers, an unmistakable reference to the man's vanity, megalomania, and pride.
The elephant looks away from the bust, symbolically distancing himself from the ivory looting with which Leopold II shamelessly enriched himself.
The lion, the so-called king of beasts, also looks ostentatiously in the other direction.
Three African warriors in splendid costume are arranged as submissive soldiers, 'on display' as three personal trophies of the king.
Striking: these tough warriors have severed feet: a clear reference to the less beautiful story of colonization.
This group of statues is the only anti-colonial statue in our country and can therefore be regarded as unique.

Tom Frantzen

Anyone who reads the text that the artist provided will notice that it says above that it was "only delivered in 2018" to the museum. On the museum's website it is noted that Tom Frantzen "has also explicitly called his group of statues a satirical monument since 2018". At the same time, the museum points out that when the statue was inaugurated in 1998 it was clear that the statue was a tribute to Leopold II, although there was hardly any mention of Leopold II's role in Congo and the atrocities. It also points out that the investments that King Leopold II made in Tervuren were financed with the profits he made from the rubber and ivory trade in Congo. See africamuseum.be/nl/news/fountain_frantzenThis is quite striking. The statue was inaugurated in 1998, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the Colonial Exhibition of 1897 - during which 267 Congolese were also forcibly brought here to be viewed, see africamuseum.be/nl/discover/history_articles/the_human_zoo_of_tervuren_1897Only more than 20 years after the inauguration of the work, the artist comes up with an explanation for the work and calls it satirical, at a time when the colonial past is - rightly - being criticized. Strange, isn't it?It is true that in the 1990s not as much attention was paid to the atrocities that happened as in recent years, although that may also have depended on the origin. We knew it very well and spoke out against it long before 1998, not only at home. Leopold's investments in Tervuren (and elsewhere) are often cited. But it is clear that there is still a lot of debate today. And that is because quite a few Belgians and their descendants have made fortunes at the expense of Africa. Whether the pendulum in opinions on this has swung too far in recent years or not is an opinion, that reality is still too often covered up or changed is a fact.Many of the artist's statements seem to me to have been added later, but that is an opinion. Is the elephant really looking away? You could hardly place him elsewhere? And why does he have his ivory tusks - intact - if you want to make a statement about the ivory theft? Why is the peacock at the back and therefore looking away the most while he is supposed to indicate how vain Leopold II was? And, yes, there is even a completely rational reason for the "legs". So many questions.

"Le Congo je presume" Unmistakable commemorative monument from 1997 to commemorate the 100 years of the Colonial Exhibition 1897-1997. Three African warriors in beautiful costumes are "exhibited" as if they were personal trophies of King Leopold 2.