The Yard

‘Have the colonialists decolonialised?’ (Jean Michel Bruyère)

'The failed decolonisation of Europe – the internment camp as the victory of colonialism over the present.’

These theses are the starting point for the artistic actions of THE YARD. An autonomous aesthetic universe – a montage of sculptures, pictures, situations, actions and interventions – will be created in the Foyer of the House of World Cultures. An installation on the roof terrace will become a temporary place of refuge for one person: the Senegalese painter, philosopher and survivor, Issa Samb, who finds himself in transit here. The others involved in this action will remain hidden from view. The anonymity of the artists is an essential element. They will remain anonymous, as is customary in the tradition of great African art – as anonymous as the millions who lose their public identity through expulsion, illegality, and flight.

The Yard can be seen as homage to Cheikh Anta Diop, whose research on the historical influences of African science and philosophy on Europe made a vital contribution to the ideological foundations of the anti-colonial struggle. In 1954, the Senegalese archaeologist wrote: We have to do our duty with respect to Europe. We must help it to recover from its old customs, which are rooted in colonialism….’