Restoring Global Memories & Local Ecologies: Metallophyte plants and colonial history in DR Congo mining
HUM:Global Talk! Exhibition and Talk.
Join us for an afternoon of science and art exchanges on the connections between plant biology, local ecosystems, colonial continuities, and reimagined futures. CApE invites Edouard Ilunga wa Ilunga, professor of Botany at the University of Lubumbashi in DR Congo; Toshie Takeuchi, Copenhagen-based visual artist whose recent work centres on the history of the Shinkolobwe uranium mine in Katanga (DR Congo); and Martha Ann Fleming, associate professor (UCPH) and leader of the Natural History Museum of Denmark research project ‘Field/Work in the Archive: Herbaria as Sites of Cultural Exchange.’
Metallophytes are plants that occur only on enriched metal soils because they can cope with high metal content in the soil. They form natural plant communities of savannas on hills contrasting the dominant surrounding woodland. This unique flora represents an invaluable biological resource for the ecological restoration of soil disturbed by mining activities, and it can be used at mining closure for restoration purposes. Since colonial times until now, the exploitation of Congolese minerals has never stopped. The industrial mining of critical minerals, such as cobalt and copper, is rapidly expanding to fulfil the demands from the Global North for electronics, green/clean energy, and AI tech development, but also to face the need for economic development of DR Congo. 70% of the world’s cobalt comes from Congo. Prof. Ilunga, his university team, and their collaborating institutions conduct site-situated research with these endemic Metallophytes on ecological restoration of degraded ecosystems in Katanga.
The invitation of Professor Ilunga to CApE was initiated by the artist Toshie Takeuchi, who is conducting artistic research on the history of the Shinkolobwe mine and its complex connections to Japan. Shinkolobwe is the source of uranium that was used to develop the first atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This mine contained the most potent uranium ore ever discovered on Earth, enabling the U.S. Army to build and detonate the bomb in just three short years and subsequently to produce thousands more. While some are aware of this geopolitical history, the harsh working conditions of forced mining labour and the extent of local radioactive contamination are less frequently discussed. Today, Shinkolobwe remains primarily overlooked in the context of the nuclear arms race and the current demand for critical minerals like cobalt. Takeuchi often reflects on the responsibilities towards the people of Congo and their indigenous land. She seeks to artistically and collectively reimagine potential futures for local Congolese communities and the many communities globally that have used or been affected by the mining. In the talk, she will discuss her collaborative project done with artists from the Congo and the USA, focusing on the erasure of the Shinkolobwe mine, the shared experiences of radiation exposure between Japanese and Congolese families, and her plans to incorporate the metallophytes of Katanga in her exhibition in Hiroshima.
There will be an exhibition with works by Toshie Takeuchi accompanying the talk.
Programme
14:00 Doors open for exhibition
15:00 Talks
Short coffee break
16:00 Panel conversation and Q&A
17:00 Reception with drinks and snacks
This event is part of the HUM:Global Talk! series.
About
Edouard Ilunga wa Ilunga is head of the Herbarium of Lubumbashi (LSHI) and lecturer of Botany and Plant Systematic at the University of Lubumbashi. He is a researcher in plant taxonomy and a member of the Editorial committee board of Flore d’Afrique Centrale. Contributor to the Flore d’Afrique Centrale, author of Phyllantaceae and Verbenaceae; working currently on grasses (Eragrostis). Specialist of biodiversity of mining areas in the southeastern DR Congo, especially the flora of metalliferous habitats. Facilitator in mining area between mining companies, civil society, and government in the Sud-Kivu Province (DR Congo).
Toshie Takeuchi is a visual artist, filmmaker, and community art practitioner. She was born in Aichi, Japan, and works in Copenhagen. Toshie bases her art practice on historical research fieldwork and often creates her works through community workshops. She explores micro stories such as personal memories, site-situated local tales, and folk traditions to widen critical perspectives on hegemonic historical and geopolitical narratives. She tries to deconstruct imperial colonial systems of memory, body, and sensorial control and criticizes how these create popular aesthetics and sentiment in society. She often collaborates with other artists, researchers, and residents.
Martha Fleming is an associate professor at the Center for Practice-based Art Studies in the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies. She is a museologist, a historian of collections, and a historian of science with a particular focus on natural historical and correlative scientific collections and archives. Her current research investigates the creation and management of natural history collections as significant forms of knowledge-producing practices embedded in globalized colonial contexts.