MASEREEL

In his work, Congolese artist Sammy Baloji explores how colonial structures continue to affect contemporary economic, cultural and epistemological systems. Starting from the history of mining in Katanga, he focuses on the way in which African art objects were taken out of their original context and recategorized within Western knowledge and exhibition systems. A recurring perspective in his practice is that historical injustices continue to have an impact through images, objects and forms of knowledge that require restoration.

For Hibernus #3, Baloji created a new work in which he continues this research. Starting from an X-ray image from the Rietberg Museum, combined with images of minerals, he reflects on the way in which scientific imaging can alienate and recode original meanings. At the same time, for Baloji, this becomes a starting point for poetic speculation, in which consumption, transformation and reinterpretation come together.

This work was created in the context of Hibernus #3.