Congo Republic. Brazzaville. The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 met on 15 November 1884 and, after an adjournment, concluded on 26 February 1885 with the signature of a General Act regulating European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period. The « Fresque de l'Afrique », sometimes called The People Speak to the People, is a work made in 1970 on commission from the Congolese state during the presidency of Marien Ngouabi. It is a typical example of the socialist, proletarian and anti-colonial art in vogue at that time in the country. Composed of hundreds of hand-painted ceramic tiles, it represents the history of the Congolese people, from the pre-colonial period to the advent of scientific socialism in the 1960s. The art piece was made by four Congolese artists, Michel Hengo, Émile Mokoko, André Ombala and Jean Itoua, supervised by the Italian artist Dégo. The fresco was originally signed “The people speak to the people”, before its creators were allowed to add their signatures in the 1980s. Originally, the socialist arch was the entrance to a covered market. It was therefore closely linked to the daily life of the Congolese who, by crossing it, enjoyed the decor created by the painters, and therefore, implicitly, by the government, for their benefit. It was almost in spite of themselves that they enjoyed the pictorial spectacle offered, since they came to this place to sell or buy various everyday consumer products. In 1980, at the time of the oil boom, the market was demolished and replaced by a modern eleven-story building, thereby canceling the primary function of the work. A barrier now restricts passage under the arch. Congo, officially the Republic of the Congo or Congo Republic, also known as Congo-Brazzaville is a country located on the western coast of Central Africa. 3.08.2024 © 2024 Didier Ruef