Yombe Statue, Democratic Republic of the Congo, c. 1960

This is an ancestor statue called Bakulu. It is an idealized representation of the ancestor and does not have to resemble the real person. They are commemorative figures and are placed on altars to pay homage to them. Their function is to fill a void, an absence, and to reassure the living by listening to the dead when they come to pray to them. Height: 25 cm Reproduced: Catalogue “Africa Babel: the Art of a Continent”, p.113 right
Exhibitions:
2022-2024 Island of Fuerteventura “Art Africa: Ancestral Light”. Lighthouse of the Entallada. Cabildo of Fuerteventura.
2021-2022 Panama City. Government of Panama. “Art Africa: the spirit of the ancestors”. Ministry of Culture Headquarters. Casco Viejo.
2019-2020 Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Caja Canarias Foundation. “Africa-Babel: the art of a Continent”. Headquarters Plaza Patriotismo.
2013-2015 Museum of Art of Africa and Oceania (Madao). La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia.
2005 “Black Africa”, Leather Museum.
2004 “Black Africa”. Caixa Laietana Foundation, Barcelona. Main exhibition hall