Congo as Fiction: Art Worlds Between Past and Present explores the vibrant and complex artistic landscape of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The book challenges the notion of a singular, unified “Congo” and instead presents a layered view of its cultural production—both historical and contemporary. Nowhere else on the African continent is the artistic output marked by such diversity in form, material, and narrative.

At the core of the project are photographs and objects collected by the German art ethnologist Hans Himmelheber during his travels through the Congo in 1938–39. These works, many of which are published here for the first time, reflect not only the innovation and artistic vitality of the time but also Himmelheber’s own constructed image of the Congo. His diaries and documentation serve as a historical lens—one that reveals as much about colonial perception as about the artworks themselves.

Set in dialogue with these archival materials are contributions by contemporary Congolese artists such as Sammy Baloji and Sinzo Aanza. Their works critically address ongoing issues of colonial legacy, globalization, missionary impact, and imposed territorial divisions—demonstrating how these themes remain deeply relevant today. The book emphasizes how contemporary art from the Congo responds to the weight of history while asserting new forms of agency and self-representation.

Through a combination of essays, visual interventions, and curatorial perspectives, Congo as Fiction invites readers to reflect on how art can navigate between constructed narratives and lived realities. The result is a multifaceted portrait of a cultural space shaped by fiction, resistance, memory, and transformation.