Moridja Kitenge Banza
Bank of Canada
Opening: Saturday, March 28, 2015
Full text by curator Pierre Beaudoin :
«In his practice as in his everyday life, Moridja Kitenge Banza is a passionate history buff. For the artist, the documented events of the past play an essential role in determining a nation’s character, identity, and soul. Dealing with sociopolitical and economic issues from sources that go back in time, his work demands a historical perspective.»
«As the artist explains: “The drawing on a bank note can contain various messages besides practical information regarding its value and provenance. Some of these messages are explicit. The legends and inscriptions on coins and bills often reveal elements of the country’s history.”
This transformation of money symbols suggests a new vision of our history. Where would Canada be if the artist’s proposition had come to pass? How would Canadian politics and history have changed? What would have come of the First Nations and their allies? Who would be the big winners, the great losers? The heroes and the traitors? And if Jacques Cartier had not “discovered” Canada? These interrogations tie in with the Congolese artist’s abiding preoccupation with his own history and that of his country.
According to the artist, “the purpose [of this reflection] is to posit an act that highlights the unwitting consensus around certain historical elements that constitute the creation of each of our societies.”
Through this exhibition and through the rigorous approach that it involves, Moridja seeks not to proffer a critique, but to transform a slice of Canadian history!
In parallel with the work Banque du Canada (Bank of Canada), the artist presents the video Hymne à nous (Anthem to Us), a striking one-minute work in which he questions his African-European status as a result of Belgian colonisation. Kitenge Banza composed his own anthem made from fragments of those from different countries "to assemble this collage, this juxtaposition, this makeshift mix a little better. »
Pierre Beaudoin
Curator
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