CC Strombeek

CC Strombeek2021 - 2022Solo Exhibition at Brussels.

Held in 2021-2022 and awarded the Laurent Moonens Prize, Hadassa Ngamba's solo exhibition Configurations presents a profound artistic investigation into the identity and geography of the Congo. The exhibition is not merely a collection of objects but a “Denkraum” - thinking space, designed to dissect the colonial and modern fantasies that have shaped the region. The exhibition was held in a building built above an hydrological system part of a complex for water management network underneath Brussels, used historically for example to collect rain.

At the heart of the exhibition is the concept of cartography—viewed not as a neutral scientific tool, but as a metaphor for the colonial conquest of lands and lithospheric plates. Ngamba’s research in Kongo Central led her to a stark conclusion: during the colonial era, the Congo was constructed as a vast production factory intended solely for export.

Exhibition parts include:

Projection of video of performance Identity Simulacra onto the water surface of one of the rain reservoirs underneath the exhibition hall.

Works from Cerveau and Perspective Series: Ngamba’s "Configurations" are grounded in the literal soil of her homeland. In her early paintings shown here she creates abstract landscapes that function as floor plans of memorized territories.

The Serene Table: Central to the physical space is La Table Sereine (The Serene Table). Constructed from recycled rubber tires taken from military vehicles, this object serves as a proposition for universal reflection. Inspired by a childhood lesson on metaphors, Ngamba envisions this table as an ideal, contour-less space where philosophers might devise solutions for humanity's survival.

A prototype of the originally planned exhibition—a spatial collage that acts as a toolbox for the artist. Surrounded by documents, slates, and paintbrushes, this installation includes animal figures (a cow, a lion) and suggests that the exhibition is an evolving, living organism rather than a static display.

Sound Installation: The visual elements are deeply intertwined with a "sound atmosphere" composed by David Shongo. Sound is a connecting factor in the memory and experience of a space. The exhibition is meant to be "listened to" as much as seen; microphones capture visitor movements, and the sounds of rippling water and pianos merge to create a connecting factor in the memory of the space.

Reflexions on exhibition with additional exhibition images - see here

Photography by Kristien Daem and Anke De Backer

Outdoor installation view+
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Outdoor installation view of NKETU – TUNGU, large‑format photography.
Installation view of the sound work, a sculpture, and the photographic work+
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Installation view of an element from the sound work CONSENSUS EN MINEUR — the “ghost microphone” perched on one of the columns with its cables trailing across the floor — shown alongside a sculpture in electrically stripped copper wire carved directly into the building’s pillar, and the photographic work NKETU – TUNGU, presented in the form of a door with hand-crafted Gothic-style hinges.
Installation view of the sound work and the photographic work+
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Installation view of an element from the sound work CONSENSUS EN MINEUR — the “ghost microphone” perched on one of the columns with its cables trailing across the floor and the photographic work NKETU – TUNGU, presented in the form of a door with hand-crafted Gothic-style hinges.
Sound installation and the photographic +
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Installation view of an element from the sound work CONSENSUS EN MINEUR — the “sound amplifier” with its cables trailing across the floor and the photographic work NKETU – TUNGU, presented in the form of a door with hand-crafted Gothic-style hinges.
Installation view of the sound work, a sculpture, and the photographic work+
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Installation view of an element from the sound work CONSENSUS EN MINEUR — with its cables trailing across the floor — shown alongside a sculpture in electrically stripped copper wire carved directly into the building’s pillar, and the photographic work NKETU – TUNGU, presented in the form of a door with hand-crafted Gothic-style hinges.
Installation view of the plant and an aluminium ball +
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Installation view of the plant Sansevieria (a species originating from Congo‑Kinshasa, brought to Belgium during the colonial period and introduced to Meise Botanic Garden around 1900), embedded within the building’s electrical conduits, with an aluminium ball placed below.
Installation view of two plants and an aluminium ball +
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Installation view of two plants Sansevieria (a species originating from Congo‑Kinshasa, brought to Belgium during the colonial period and introduced to Meise Botanic Garden around 1900), embedded within the building’s electrical conduits, with an aluminium ball placed below.
Installation view of the painting+
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Perspectives II
Projection of the video performance and the ghost microphone onto the groundwater table beneath the exhibition building+
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Projection of the Identity Simulacra performance and the ghost microphone onto the groundwater table beneath system the CC Strombeek building.
La Table Sereine with the black wall+
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« Mon professeur de français de sixième année nous a interrogés sur les métaphores que cachent les mots. Pour la “table sereine”, j’ai répondu : une table où des philosophes prennent place afin de trouver des réponses universelles pour la survie du monde.» Hadassa Ngamba 2021
Installation view of La Table Sereine (A Serene Table), a composite element of the sound work CONSENSUS EN MINEUR. The sound architecture comprises “ghost microphones” placed on the floor, high up on the building’s columns and connected to the groundwater table beneath the building, as well as the cabling running from the microphones to the amplifier and the diffusion of sound through speakers suspended from the ceiling. The cables running across the floor and the system connecting the sound device to the building’s electrical network are presented alongside embedded Sansevieria plants and a sculpture in electrically stripped copper wire carved directly into the building’s pillar, together with a black wall that functions as a composite element of the exhibition.
This black wall marks a threshold between, on the one hand, the installation space — organised around La Table Sereine at the centre and five photographs from the series installed at the entrance to five distinct cellars — and, on the other hand, a space where an immersive set‑up of audiovisual projection, the exhibition prototype and the painting Perspectives II unfolds.
La Table sereine+
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« Mon professeur de français de sixième année nous a interrogés sur les métaphores que cachent les mots. Pour la “table sereine”, j’ai répondu : une table où des philosophes prennent place afin de trouver des réponses universelles pour la survie du monde.» (Hadassa Ngamba)
Installation view of La Table Sereine (A Serene Table), a composite element of the sound work CONSENSUS EN MINEUR. The sound architecture comprises “ghost microphones” placed on the floor, high up on the building’s columns and connected to the groundwater table beneath the building, as well as the cabling running from the microphones to the amplifier and the diffusion of sound through speakers suspended from the ceiling. The cables running across the floor and the system connecting the sound device to the building’s electrical network are presented alongside embedded Sansevieriaplants and a sculpture in electrically stripped copper wire carved directly into the building’s pillar, together with a black wall that functions as a composite element of the exhibition.
The ensemble is organised around La Table Sereine at the centre, five photographs from the Nketu‑Tungu series installed at the entrance to five distinct cellars and, beyond the aforementioned black wall, a space where an immersive set‑up of audiovisual projection, the exhibition prototype and the painting Perspectives II unfolds.
Installation view of a detail of La Table Sereine+
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Installation view of La Table Sereine (A Serene Table), the sound work, the sculpture in electrically stripped copper wire, the painting Cerveau II and the black wall.
Installation view of a detail of La Table Sereine+
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Installation view of La Table Sereine (A Serene Table), the sound work, the sculpture in electrically stripped copper wire and he photographic series.
Installation view of a detail of La Table Sereine+
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Installation view of La Table Sereine (A Serene Table).
Prototype of the originally planned exhibition+
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The reflection of the Configurations - exhibition as conceived by the artist
Prototype of the originally planned exhibition+
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The reflection of the Configurations - exhibition as conceived by the artist
Prototype of the originally planned exhibition+
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The reflection of the Configurations - exhibition as conceived by the artist
Prototype of the originally planned exhibition+
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The reflection of the Configurations - exhibition as conceived by the artist