This work depicts Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, heir to the throne and a figure of a future in the making.
She embodies a new generation called to inherit not only power, but also a complex and heavy past, shaped by the colonial history between Europe and Africa.
The work more specifically evokes the shared history between Belgium and the Congo. The Congo is one of the countries that experienced one of the most violent and devastating colonial regimes. This history, long silenced, continues to weigh on relationships, memories, and identities, both in the Congo and within the diaspora.
The princess is not portrayed here as an individual person. She becomes a symbol: that of a Western future inheriting a heavy past whose traces remain deeply present. This past rests on her shoulders like a silent responsibility one that must be understood, acknowledged, and transformed.
The mask she holds before her face was traditionally used in the Congo as a mediator between the world of the living and that of the ancestors. Here, it becomes a symbolic bridge between new power and African heritage, between what has been lived and what remains to be built. It suggests a possible dialogue between the memories of the Congo, those of the diaspora, and those of European institutions.
Beyond the Belgian context, this work forms part of a broader reflection. It questions the future of the West and of new generations of leaders.
This work does not confront.
It opens a space for reflection, responsibility, and transmission.
What do we do today with the history we inherit?
