In Naples, in the Palatine Chapel of Maschio Angioino, from 29 October 2022 to 15 January 2023 the exhibition “Sacri spiriti. I Songye nella Cappella Palatina” will be set up.
The exhibition can be visited free of charge from Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 17 pm.
The exhibition is curated by two international experts of recognized competence: Bernard de Grunne and Gigi Pezzoli. The event is produced by Andrea Aragosa on behalf of Black Tarantella. The exhibition enjoys the patronage of the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Rome, the Consulate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Naples, the Campania Region, the Municipality of Naples, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, the University "L'Orientale" and the Centro Studi Archeologia Africana of Milan.
The exhibition will feature over 130 works collected by ConselliArt.
This is the most important exhibition ever held on the traditional sculpture of the Songye, an African ethnic group settled in a large territory in the central region, south-eastern quadrant, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Songye art has never been presented in Italy and even in the world the exhibitions expressly dedicated to this population have been very rare. And yet, very few sculptures like these embody the imagery of African creativity. They are what we once called "fetishes" and today, with less negative terms, "figures of power" or "cult effigies". These are magical-protective objects resulting from the joint intervention of sculptors, blacksmiths and ritual specialists who activated them through songs, prayers and the addition of animal and natural elements.
The homogeneous nature of the objects on display offers the opportunity to grasp some constitutive elements of the essence of these artefacts, as well as their placement in the communities of origin.
A first level of perception – of an aesthetic nature – refers to the human representation reworked with a limited dose of abstraction. We can perceive identity canons but also variations. It is evident that the sculptors had rules, codes and models to respect because their creations had to be understood and accepted by the community for which they fulfilled ritual functions. However, the variety of formal solutions highlights the existence of stylistic centers and artistic individualities. In the representation of the human figure the prevalent element is the combination of frontality and symmetry. The movement is barely hinted at, more often implied – as a virtual principle – by a slight bending of the legs or, sometimes, by a surprising rotation of the head. The faces are strong with exaggerated naturalistic features, while the parts of the body are clearly defined as autonomous volumes, not necessarily in anatomical proportions.
Even if we almost always ignore the details of their origin, nevertheless the stylistic coherence of these sculptures makes us intuit a precise social identity resulting from stratified events and common myths of origin. As ethnographic research has documented, the meaning and collective function of these objects is evident, which, in an indissoluble whole, permeated every moment of the existence of the Songye, ensured social cohesion and, at the same time, justified institutions and power. In short - as a second level of perception - these sculptures are bearers of a profoundly historical and political nature.
Finally, alongside the aesthetic and historical dimensions, the theme of assiduous devotional practice is evident. It is obvious that these objects are made of matter, beliefs, desires, words and relationships. The additional elements and residues of ritual activities have often modified their surface, to the point of transfiguring their appearance. It is impossible not to grasp the corporeal relationship of intimacy and passion that existed between men - at a community and individual level - and the divinities. On the other hand, in all those practices, the dimension of care and protection was central. People did not turn to an object of worship for pure mystical contemplation, but to improve their earthly life, to heal from an illness, to protect themselves from the evil eye and negative forces, to ward off sterility and poverty, to promote the prosperity of the lands and the community.
But there is also something else that constitutes a distinctive element of this exhibition. The installation of a set of magical-protective figures of the Songye, in an ancient place of Christianity – the Palatine Chapel – next to the fragments of a cycle of frescoes by Giotto, spontaneously raises a question: are we comparing the profane to the sacred?
It is rare for an African art exhibition to question the relationship between the exhibited objects and the place of exhibition, but in this case the circumstances required it. The curators asked themselves the question and tried to answer with suggestive references to the traditional practices of religiosity in southern Italy and Naples in particular.
The exhibition path favors a visual experience, a direct and intuitive relationship with the spirituality and creativity of an African people.
In the central nave the sequence begins with a historical sculpture, exhibited in Antwerp in 1937 and continues with a series of works of particular aesthetic value and dimensional relevance. But this is an exception because the exhibition is mainly composed of series and groupings of objects in which the common elements and the themes of comparison are highlighted above all.
Along the side walls of the Palatine Chapel the works are presented in a hypothetical geographical sequence as if one were to travel through the Songye country in an anti-clockwise direction: from the south-east towards the centre-north-east, from the centre-north-west towards the south-west and south.
Within the geographical itinerary, some in-depth themes and some identified ateliers are placed.
Finally, during the exhibition, a group of Songye figures will be hosted by the National Archaeological Museum of Naples to testify that these creations have all the credentials to be compared to the masterpieces of historical civilizations and that, beyond the purely ethnographic interest, they must be admired for what they are: perfect expressions of the aesthetic values of the culture that generated them.
The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated bilingual (Italian and French) catalogue of 336 pages published by Silvana Editoriale. The texts are by Gigi Pezzoli, Constantine Petridis, François Neyt and Bernard de Grunne.
Article published on 28 October 2022 - 15:58
Video Chronicles
