Chocolate sculptures

  • Nestor Mbau and Emery Muhamba’s Self Portraits at Artis Mundi, Institute for Human Activities, Opening Artes Mundi, National Museum Cardiff, video still, 2014

  • Sculptures made by Congolese Plantation Workers Mbuku Kipala, Djonga Bismar, Emery Muhamba and Nestor Mbau, Institute for Human Activities, Opening Artes Mundi, National Museum Cardiff, video still, 2014

  • Jan Willem Jansen and Carlo Midiri of the Dutch Pastry Team posing with Self Portraits, Institute for Human Activities, Opening Artes Mundi, National Museum Cardiff, video still, 2014

  • Impression of the Opening at Artes Mundi, Institute for Human Activities, video still, Opening Artes Mundi, National Museum Cardiff, 2014

  • Visitors discussing Self Portraits made by Congolese Plantation Workers, Institute for Human Activities, Opening Artes Mundi, National Museum Cardiff, video still, 2014

  • Small Self Portraits of the Congolese Plantation Workers Art League for Sale at Artes Mundi, Institute for Human Activities, Opening Artes Mundi, National Museum Cardiff, video still, 2014

  • Mubuku Kipala's 'Self Portrait without Clothes' at Artes Mundi, Institute for Human Activities, Opening Artes Mundi, National Museum Cardiff, video still, 2014

  • Jan Willem of the Dutch Pastry Team contemplating the Work of Mbuku Kipala, Institute for Human Activities, The Netherlands, video still, 2014

Commissioned by artist Renzo Martens, Joris printed digital scans of clay portraits made by plantation workers in Congo. Due to the scanning and printing process the original objects didn’t have to be transported to Europe to be able to exhibit them here. The 3D prints were made using Ultimakers combined with the Z-Unlimited add-on to create real size portraits. Finally the prints served as a basis for chocolate art objects which were exhibited in the National Museum of Art (Cardiff UK) and van Abbe museum (Eindhoven NL) within the context of Martens’ ongoing project the Institute for Human Activities.

Press release:

Renzo Martens’ Institute for Human Activities was selected to participate in the 6th edition of the Artes Mundi biennial in Cardiff, Wales (24.10.2014 – 22.02.2015). The IHA is thus nominated for the Artes Mundi award, Britain’s biggest international contemporary art prize.

From IHA’s settlement in exile, these sculptures have been scanned and digitally exported to Europe. V2_ was a key production partner. Joris van Tubergen made 3D printed versions of the sculptures from the scans. These 3D prints were used to create molds used by the award-winning Dutch Pastry Team to cast these self-portraits in the very cocoa that League members have produced for global markets for the last century.

From November 22 2014 to February 22 2015 the Institute for Human Activities is part of the exhibition Confessions of the Imperfect, curated by Alistair Hudson and Steven ten Thije at the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven. The Institute for Human Activities will also tour to V2_ in 2015, details forthcoming.

At its upcoming exhibitions, the IHA will show a series of sculptures. Coinciding with the inaugural meeting of the Congolese Plantation Workers Art League, plantation workers such as Djonga Bismar, Mbuku Kipala, and others embarked on the production of elaborate self-portraits.

At Artes Mundi and the Van Abbemuseum, their chocolates will be for sale, – but with added content: feelings, ideas, convictions. For the very first time, the sculptures will generate revenue for Congolese plantation workers through a more lucrative post-Fordist, affective economy. As these plantation workers cannot live off plantation labour, they will now live off artistic engagement with plantation labour. The self-portraits are made possible by Barry Callebaut, the leading Franco – Belgian chocolate producer.

www.humanactivities.org

Exhibitions
The Matter of Critique KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin  May 1 – June 7 2015
A Lucky Day KOW, Berlin  May 1 – July 25 2015
A New Settlement Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam  May 2 – June 6 2015

Press
Het Parool: Mysterie van Geld, Kunst en Cacao  May 7 2015
On 21 November 2014, De Volkskrant published an article on this project: Niet kunnen leven van de cacao, maar wel van de chocolade.