Spotlight: A young woman in the world of African Art

I recently visited the Africa museum in Belgium. Previously called the "colonial palace", the museum was established with wealth gained from the colony in Congo and was used as a propaganda and power display medium by king Leopold II for his undertakings there. The museum was reorganized in the following decades, but it remained a controversial place. After some renovations, the museum reopened in 2018, this time with more input from Africans or African-descendants and with a focus on a critical view of Belgium's colonial history. This article, however, it not going to discuss the history or horrors of the colonization, but is going to zoom in on the fact that because of Belgium's (very regrettable) colonial history, Brussels today is a hub for African Art. The museum alone holds a collection of 120.000 objects, most of them from Congo, but there are also numerous personal collections displayed or sold at galleries, fairs and auctions. The 'Sablon District' in Brussels is world-famous for its African Art galleries. Like any larger art scene, it's a world of big money and competition. In this Spotlight interview, one of my dear friends shares her knowledge and opens up about what it is like to work in the African Art scene in Brussels.  

From a young age, Camille Quatre-Coeurs was dragged along to flea markets every weekend. She got into contact with African Art through her grandfather's interest in it, which at a later age sparked a passion inside her. After her studies in communication, she obtained a job at a gallery in Brussels. Today, she is self-employed as secondary profession in this field and has future plans about making African Art trendy again. 

What do you find interesting about African Art?

I'm really interested in the history and stories behind a piece, like the rituals or ceremonies they were used for. Every tribe has their own use for art pieces. For example, some statues were used as a doll for their children, others to commemorate lost ones. I also enjoy the esthetic aspect, meaning the shape and the sophistication of a certain art object. My love for African Art grew naturally from being surrounded by it from a young age and having my grandfather tell stories about their origins.

What are some of the other rituals the art was used for?

Some objects, like masks or belts were used for dance ceremonies. Thrones, scepters weapons or even hairpins were status symbols. There are pieces that were supposed to bring fertility, not only for women but also for harvesting. The Baule tribe (Ivory Coast) had a statue that represented a spiritual wife. So, a man would have a 'real-life' wife and a spiritual wife, and he would spend one week with his real wife and the next one with his spiritual one, which he had to 'feed' and take care of. Masks were also representations of a handicapped person with a deformed face. Because there was no medical science, they didn't understand these deformations and made 'disease masks' to deal with this. Finally, there are pieces used for voodoo and fetishes. For instance, the Bacongo tribe (Congo) is known for its nail fetish. People with medical issues that couldn't be solved or problems they wanted help with would go to the "féticheur" and he would for example knock nails in a wooden statue to try and help them (see second picture underneath).  

What defines the price of a piece?

Most important is the esthetic of the piece. The more refined, the more expensive. Pieces from the early 20th century and before are worth the most. Furthermore, rarity and shape play a central role as well. And finally, the 'provenance' of a certain piece, meaning in which collections it has been in. The more renowned the collection, the higher the price. This is gaining in importance because it's also a guarantee for the authenticity of the piece, as unfortunately it keeps getting more difficult to differentiate real art from fake.  

Is there a big circulation of false pieces?

Oh yes and it's destroying the African Art market. When some people in Africa realized their traditional art was being sold for large numbers of money, they started replicating it. Until the second World War, the value of a piece is still high, but afterwards it decreased because of the circulation of false pieces and because a lot of art was replicated for tourists. The replicas today are that well done, that even the most famous collectors and sellers have a difficult time differentiating and more and more art has to be examined in laboratories. 

How did the art find its way to today's Belgian collections? And what is your opinion on the statement that the art was stolen through looting and theft during colonial times and has to be returned to their rightful owners?

It's a misconception that all of the art was stolen, some of the art indeed came from robberies, but they were also obtained through barter, just bought during and after colonial times or obtained as a gift to religious missionaries for example. Afterwards, they were transferred from collection to collection, passed on through heritage, sold at auctions, through art dealers or at flea markets. It could be that someone would find African art in the attic of one of their passed family members and would sell it at a flea market for a cheaper price - because they didn’t have the knowledge about it - and other people would then start a collection.

I understand the call of African countries to return the stolen pieces and I agree with this, but it has to then be made sure of that it will fall into the right hands and that there is an organization in place that will look after the pieces. The Africa Museum in Belgium already once returned some pieces, however, a large part 'disappeared' on arrival in Africa and never arrived at the museum in Congo it was meant for, which is a real shame. They were re-sold to Europeans and thus sometimes these pieces would then reappear in someone's collection in Belgium.  

Has African art influenced European artists?

Yes, especially surrealists, with as a biggest example Pablo Picasso. He had an 'African period' from 1906 to 1909, when he would paint in a style that was strongly influenced by African sculptures and masks, like in the world famous painting "Desmoiselles D'Avignon" (see picture below).

Europeans also influenced African art through religion. They weren't allowed to depict genitals anymore and had to remove them from existing pieces. Sometimes they would also represent colonists in their figures by 'dressing' them in colonial costumes. Naturally, they also used new materials the Europeans brought with them.  

Who are the buyers of African Art today? And what's the highest price for which an African Art object was sold?

Besides Belgium, there's a big market for African Art in France, Germany, Switzerland and the US and UK. There's not really a buyer's profile because people from different backgrounds buy the art, but you sure do have to be able to put down some dollars. The highest price is currently at 12 million dollars. 

What's the African Art scene like in Brussels? Is it correct to say that it's a white male-dominated world?

Yes, that's definitely the case. I only know of one or two other women that are working in this field and African or African descendant sellers are an exception. Didier Claes, for example, is one of those exceptions, but he did make it to the top. It's also mostly older people, above 40 or 50. I'm one of the only young people that's interested in it, which makes me scared for the future of this market. It's quite a though world, which is why I think there aren't many women involved. I don't want to generalize, but let's just say there is competition and ego present, which is always the case when there's big money involved.

How do you then feel about making your way into this world?

Well, through gaining more in-depth knowledge of the art, I will feel confident enough to stand my ground. There's still a lot to learn. Looking at a piece, you have to know the decade it was made in, which tribe it came from, what it was used for etcetera.  

What are your future goals in this field?

As I previously said, keep learning as much as possible and keep networking. At the moment I work at auctions, help at fairs and do the communication and marketing for gallery owners. One of my goals for the future is to make young people interested in African Art, especially young Africans or African descendants, and get them to see the beauty of the history and stories behind different pieces. I've noticed that they consider traditional tribal art to be silly and are more interested in European art. As such, I want to make African art trendy again. I would like to, for example, collaborate with African fashion designers, inspire contemporary artists and increase the visibility of the art through displaying them on movie sets or music videos.

Follow Camille on instagram: @quatrecoeursart