Staging/caging 'otherness' in the postcolony: spectres of the human zoo

Becoming Through an Encounter With an Artistic Congo Village Event in Norway

“…From the beginning, the project met critique within the Norwegian media landscape (Diouf, 2014;Mwesigire, 2014). Similar critique has been raised to artists working with human zoos in other context, and also exhibitions working with the same extraordinary phenomenon (Chikha & Arnaut, 2013;McLean, 2012). One example is Exhibit B, by the South African artist Brett Bailey, and this engagement with the human zoo as a colonial phenomenon.…”

“…Still, I have to help a reader not familiar with human zoos, chosen to offer some basic insights. The concept human zoos refers to a historical phenomenon of the 19th and 20th century in Europe, the United States, and beyond where a segment of a village (usually in the global south), for example, a Congolese or a Filipino village, is recreated and "populated" with people from, for example, Africa or Asia (Chikha & Arnaut, 2013). These people, young and old, transported to Europe or the United States for this purpose, were paid to perform "authentic" everyday life within this village as some kind of "edutainment" (Chikha & Arnaut, 2013, p. 667) for spectators visiting larger exhibitions such as world fairs.…”

“…Perhaps shocking to some, human zoos were a standard component of that time's world fairs. These mock tribal villages were part of that time's mass medium as hundreds of millions visited the world exhibitions where they were a popular element (Chikha & Arnaut, 2013) The postcolonial legacies of the historical human zoos have, according to Chikha and Arnaut (2013), been given minimal attention. This, they continue, applies not least to art projects.…”

“…Human zoos were a mix of both education and entertainment as they were seen as giving important educational experiences, while simultaneously also being a popular entertaining attraction in the wider fairgrounds. According to Chikha and Arnaut (2013), one could say that colonial anthropology "informed or legitimized some of the basic mechanisms of zoo performances and representations", that the human zoo enjoyed scientific legitimation, and that this phenomenon "laid a basic for a hegemonic narrative of modernity" (p. 667). They further suggest that human zoos included elements of "staging" and "caging" (p. 667).…”

“…Here, human zoo's relevance for contemporary ways of othering is explored in various ways (Chikha & Arnaut, 2013, p. 671). The critique toward such artwork and exhibitions, or main question asked seem to be; is this reproducing the patterns of racism instead of contributing to deconstruct them (Chikha & Arnaut, 2013;Diouf, 2014;McLean, 2012;Mwesigire, 2014)? When it comes to actions produced with me in encounter with the art project, it is important to mention that, at the time of the national celebration of the 200 anniversary of the Norwegian Constitution, I was working to finish a PhD study on professionalism and race in early childhood education in Norway.…”