Malice II [Economy] (2026), Meessen gallery, Brussels, Belgium (photo: Alice Pallot)
The lasting influence of colonial intervention in the Belgian Congo is depicted in the triptych Malice I, II, III (Religion, Economy, Administration). They are inspired by Congolese memory boards, or lukasa, and depict each of the three pillars of influence that still haunt Congolese societies today, using objects alone as an educational rebus. They are reminiscent of those used by members of the Mbudye association in the Kingdom of Luba as an archive for the topographical and chronological mapping of political histories and a means of remembering important people, places, and mythical migration routes. By following the route from one object to the next, the path of transformation becomes apparent. The contour of a lukasa is drawn by etching a printed circuit board (PCB) with ferric chloride (FeCl3), a technique commonly used to make copper circuits for electronic appliances. They can be interpreted as mnemonic memory devices that function as analogue computers.