These photographs come from a series entitled 'Leopold and Mobutu'. Tillim has counterposed photographs representative of the colonial and postindependence Congo (Zaire). It in effect creates a commentary on two despots, the first being King Leopold II of Belgium who conquered Congo to create his own personal empire, not that of the Belgian state, but a garden of his own. Mobutu was second Prime Minister of Congo after the assasination of Patrice Lumumba who had held power for a little over two months. Both King Leopold II and Mobutu reaped the fruits of Congo with little benefit to the local population. Mobutu created a system of state patronage where he could reward his political elite with land and nationalised state companies. This ensured his grasp of power. At the same time it was to ensure his downfall, as the politcal elite endowed with state wealth began to create informal economies of their own that divereted tax and mineral revenue away from the formal state. Mobutu was usurped by Laurent Kabila in 1996.
No comments:
Post a Comment