Géraldine Tobe
Works
Empty Song
P
Date
2022
Material
Smoke on canvas
Description
Géraldine Tobe’s Empty Song juxtaposes seven paintings full of agitation and ambiguity with a single panel of a man sitting solemnly by himself. The spiritual duality of this juxtaposition, and within the larger composition itself, reflects the duality of Tobe’s upbringing between traditional Congolese beliefs and Catholicism, just as the shapes and outlines drawn with smoke emerge from a personal history of a fire that consumed her work. On one side, we see a clash between good and evil, between beings who ruthlessly wield violence and those who dare to intervene, represented here by a celestial intercession. On the other, the sage with a third eye evokes a deeply monotheistic hope: for a supreme being who exists outside our spatial and temporal understanding. Beyond dualities, he has found peace, but he must hold himself tight, as if to stave off his own disintegration. Five African sculptures close by add another layer: a cultural achievement before or apart from colonialism, a collection of figures as permanent conference and dialogue who remain individual in their collectivity.
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Looking Beyond
P
Date
2024
Description
Africa’s greatness lies in every sacrifice, every stain, every immeasurable and indelible drop of blood. A rich repository, the archives of the Völklingen Ironworks are also a hymn to the memory of countless German and foreign workers who toiled here. This work honors them, those known and those forever faceless, a twisted body surrounded by likenesses from the archive. Marks and shapes, traced in fire and smoke, unearthed from an inner quest, resist oblivion and demand recognition: we all stand in the shadow of others’ histories. Insects scurry across the canvas, recalling a troubled past of forced labor and environmental destruction, while rust with gold lines symbolizes the pride of workers long gone, evoking the Kintsugi philosophy of strength through resilience and restoration. Giving the workers traditional African masks to symbolize ancestral spirits, the artist binds them in a collective memory. Closed in 1986, this UNESCO World Heritage Site now thrives as a cultural landmark. Hands carefully holding fragile beings gesture toward this new chapter of care and rebirth.
Géraldine Tobe