The works on display are part of the third series of Patrick Willocq’s SONGS OF THE WALÉS project. With a very avant-garde and futurist thought, Willocq here shows the young primiparous Walé mothers, projected into a hypothetical future that depicts them as super women, super heroines, super mothers, through fantastic scenarios and landscapes.
We are asked to imagine their community emerging in 2050 – a not-too-distant future – in a (DRC)- Democratic Republic of the Congo, that has found stability, wealth, well-being and lasting peace. We enter the imagination of the artist who wraps the habitat of the Walés in red, the color that represents their motherhood, life, royalty: ribbons floating on the trees, huts entirely covered with tarpaulins, strips of silk suspended on water and entire paths of the equatorial forest covered with canvas.
The glorification not only of these young mothers who have become matriarchs, strong, powerful, proud and capable of making their community grow, but also of a path and a vision that leads to a better future through respect for the landscape that surrounds them.
The exhibition is part of the program GENOVA START 2024: 24 galleries, exhibiting over 50 artists, featuring paintings, sculptures, and photography from twentieth century to the present day, For over 15 years START continues a contemporary art tradition, a path of artistic discovery through the centre of Genova between the Caruggi and the Historical Palaces, with openings, performances and multimedia events promoting new trends and artworks from the masters of the international art scene.
Technical information:
Archival Fine Art pigment prints, on DBond, oak frame and museum glass
cm 115×151 – edition of 8 + 1 a.p. – cm 67×87 – edition of 6 + 1 a.p.
BIOGRAPHY
Patrick Wiillocq was born in Stasburg, (France),he lives and works between the Congo (DRC) and France. Raised in the Democratic Republic of Congo, since 2009 he has undertaken various journeys deep into the African equatorial forest, immersed in the territory of the Ekonda, to learn about their fascinating rituals and ways of life. The images of the mise en scenes, co-created with the Walés from the series that are part of the corpus of works Songs of the Walés (2013-2016), an internationally acclaimed and exhibited photographic project, revealed the rise of new subjectivities that operate from the realm of collaborative participatory artistic productions. Feeling deeply accepted and flattered by the title Boomo Bialé (the Walés’ husband) bestowed upon him by the community, a synergistic relationship emerged between Willocq and the Walés, rooted in respect, trust and the shared lived experience of UBUNTU, the African philosophy that states that to be true we must be touched by another human being, and that humanity is a quality we owe to each other. Patrick Willocq’s works have been exhibited in various international art fairs and museums, including Paris Photo, Photo London, Art Miami, ARTEFIERA, THE PHAIR, Museum of Photography in Charleroi. Nominated, finalist and/or winner of prestigious international awards including Rencontres d’Arles DA, Prix HSBC, Sony WPA and Leica OBA, he has also been featured in numerous television broadcasts and publications. Patrick is represented by VisionQuesT 4rosso in Italy. He is co-author of a 52-minute documentary film, Le Chant des Walés, broadcast on the France 5 television channel.