Miroir

Miroir is the result of turning my critical gaze to the film Les Seigneurs de la Forêt and its accompanying photo-book. The film was produced by the International Scientific Foundation under the auspices of His Majesty King Leopold III in 1958.

The film looks at a specific community in Congo's rainforest. My gaze fixes on 1958, the year the Congolese political elite fought for independence while the Brussels World Fair still showcased Congolese people and their villages in a human zoo-like display. It's no coincidence that the film's production alludes to a human zoo.

The opening lines of the photo-book acknowledge man's harmful role in nature: "Man has not ceased disturbing the balance of nature since the dawn of civilisations." But they are followed by praise for the colonial establishment, celebrating the Belgian sovereigns' work in the Congo.

How can we look at a group of people who since the dawn of time have had their own sense of independence? How can we see them cohabiting with nature? Miroir shows the reflection and reading of the soul of the grand lord of the forest, Leopold himself, a man who cared about the Congo so much he wanted to keep it for himself.