2023-06-12 18:56:17
230 objects, mostly from Nigeria and Cameroon, are presented in this exhibition. These masks, statuettes or ornaments come from the private collection of Ewa and Yves Develon, now entrusted to the museum.
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The exhibition Africa, a thousand lives of objects tells the story of these 230 works of art, from their making to their journey to Europe from Nigeria and Cameroon. It also honors the couple Ewa and Yves Develon, at the origin of this collection.
From creation to rituals
Retracing the journey of these treasures collected over nearly half a century by a couple of art enthusiasts is the whole objective of this exhibition. The first part plunges the visitor closer to their creation. He discovers the materials used (metal, ivory, wood, plant fibres, etc.), the techniques used as well as the sources of inspiration (human or animal). The talent of the sculptors, blacksmiths, ceramists or bronziers is also highlighted through photos. More than simple works of art, these objects are of great ritual or cultural importance within the tribes. A statuette could, for example, honor wandering souls. An adornment or a mask will be used as a ceremonial object during the masquerades. Films describing these ceremonies are also projected on two large screens in the huge room (700 m2) devoted to the exhibition.
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From rituals to works of art
If in Africa, these objects have a real social utility, in Europe they are confined to the rank of works of art. The gaze of collectors is the other subject of this exhibition. Seduced by the aesthetics of these sculptures, Ewa and Yves Develon built up, from the 1960s, a collection of more than 300 objects from sub-Saharan Africa. “A large part of this collection is made up of works from Nigeria. Having never been colonized by France, we have very few objects from this country. And yet, it is culturally and stylistically diverse amazing”, enthusiastically recounts Marie Perrier, director of the South Africa collection Confluence Museum. The couple also had a real crush on the works from Cameroon.
Today the question arises of the transmission of all this wealth. In 2018, the Develons donated around forty pieces to the Musée des Confluences which, at the time, had already organized an exhibition. A first legacy that will continue with the donation to the Lyon museum of the entire collection.
Exhibition “Africa, a thousand lives of objects” – Musée des Confluences, 86 quai Perrache 69002 Lyon, floor 1, room 12 – Until February 18, 2024 – Tuesday to Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., late opening until 10 p.m.is Thursday of the month – Price: from €0 to €9
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