CATPC Elder Blaise Mandefu Ayawo Dies at 55 During Venice Biennale
Blaise Mandefu Ayawo, aged 55, a prominent figure in the Congolese plantation workers' group Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise (CATPC), has passed away. He was in Venice attending the opening of CATPC's exhibition at the Venice Biennale, where the collective represented the Netherlands. Mandefu Ayawo spent two weeks in Ospedale dell’Angelo before his death. As a respected elder of CATPC, he played a vital role in land recovery in Lusanga and its reforestation. Since 2014, CATPC has utilized funds from art sales to repurchase land from Unilever, converting it into biodiverse agroforests. For the Biennale, the collective showcased cacao sculptures, including Mandefu Ayawo's centerpiece, Mvuyu Libérateur, which illustrates a bird breaking open a white cube to reclaim energy linked to European museums and forced labor.
Key facts
- Blaise Mandefu Ayawo died at age 55.
- He was a member of CATPC, a collective of plantation workers from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- CATPC is representing the Netherlands at the 2024 Venice Biennale.
- Mandefu Ayawo was hospitalized for two weeks at Ospedale dell’Angelo in Venice before dying.
- He was an elder of CATPC and integral to land recovery in Lusanga and reforestation.
- Since 2014, CATPC has used art sale money to buy land from Unilever and create biodiverse agroforests.
- For the Biennale, CATPC installed cacao sculptures; Mandefu Ayawo created the central sculpture Mvuyu Libérateur.
- Mvuyu Libérateur depicts a bird splitting a white cube to reclaim energy from forced labor that built European museums.
Entities
Artists
- Blaise Mandefu Ayawo
Institutions
- Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise
- Unilever
- Ospedale dell’Angelo
Locations
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Netherlands
- Venice
- Lusanga
- Ospedale dell’Angelo