Although we all have our origins in Africa and Egyptian culture still shapes us today, while the Roman Empire’s granaries were in North Africa and powerful African kingdoms flourished during the Middle Ages, Africa has been portrayed on world maps since the days of Mercator as smaller than its actual size and the continent continues to be underestimated in both its geographic scope and its significance for world history, despite its prehistorical role as the birthplace of humankind. THE TRUE SIZE OF AFRICA signifies all of this, in addition to the global reach of the African diaspora, wrought by the transatlantic slave trade and the forced displacement of African people worldwide, with lasting impacts to this day.
Exactly 140 years ago, in November 1884, the Congo Conference was opened in Berlin, which divided up Africa among the colonial powers without any African participation: Reason enough to take a different look in 2024 at this huge continent and the people who come from it. THE TRUE SIZE OF AFRICA tests approaches that identify traditions of thought, prejudices and stereotypes and enable new perspectives—by means of cultural history and contemporary art, through constant changes of perspective and artistic polyphony. ‘We want to be an eye-opener, not just a feast for the eyes. We want to move and inspire in equal measure,’ says Dr Ralf Beil, General Director of the World Heritage Völklinger Hütte and curator of the exhibition.
While a MUSEUM OF MEMORABILITY reflects on Africa’s past and present from the perspective of colonial Europe, African sculptures and objects from private collections in Saarland enter into a dialogue with the machines and flywheels of the historic blower hall. ‘The central idea of this exhibition structure is a methodical reversal of perspective. Industrial modernity, which has repeatedly darkened Europe, meets a multifaceted, illuminating African culture,’ says curator Dr Ralf Beil.
Major artworks from recent decades are paired with numerous sound and spatial installations realised especially for the show by artists from Africa and the global diaspora, all making THE TRUE SIZE OF AFRICA tangible. For the first time, this exhibition route, reflecting the vastness of the subject, extends from the Pump house through the Blower hall, the Compressor hall, and the Sintering plant, all the way to the Ore shed.
Major artworks from recent decades are paired with numerous sound and spatial installations realised especially for the show by artists from Africa and the global diaspora, all making THE TRUE SIZE OF AFRICA tangible. For the first time, this exhibition route, reflecting the vastness of the subject, extends from the Pump house through the Blower hall, the Compressor hall, and the Sintering plant, all the way to the Ore shed.
“We are presenting new stories from Africa to counter the grand, often idealized narrative of Western civilization—stories that offer us a mirror for self-examination and self-awareness,” Ralf Beil notes, explaining the ideas behind the exhibition.
One powerful symbol for this intention is Emeka Ogboh’s sound installation “The Land Remembers,” created specifically for THE TRUE SIZE OF AFRICA. Visitors are welcomed by this beautiful, yet irritating sound piece in the Pump house before they even reach the main exhibition in the Blower hall. Each voice has its own speaker, producing a unique soundscape in the space—an unusual kind of a cappella concert. The song heard here is the “Steigerlied” (a traditional miners’ song), sung in Oshivambo, a Namibian language, and recorded by the African Vocals in Windhoek with new lyrics by Emeka Ogboh. The text tells of colonial land seizures, exploitation, wounds, and rebirth. In this way, an element of Germany’s intangible heritage becomes an African song, reflecting a shared past.
