ART

(Kinshasa, D.R.Congo)

born in 1968

lives and works in Kinshasa

Born into a family of craftsmen, his father is a carpenter, he attended school and received a diploma as a teacher. Pume little attracted by education of children decided to follow his destiny.

He says that his fascination of logic, cause and effect, and sciences comes from his observation of film projectors, that he looks run tirelessly in cinemas.  'Those who invented this machine are neither God nor angels, ... so why not me ?'. He invented his own solar energy machine, sold at a fair. With the winnings, he bought a film projector ...

[run the slideshow below]

In 1988, a voice (the voice of Byl, the 'man' who does not want to waste time) whispers that anything is possible, he must be calm, he did not come on Earth for nothing. 'Born into a wealthy family, I never been inspired to push so far. But we are still not come into the world to embrace suffering.'

But what? For four years he will meditate on the 'statue Byl', symbolic representation of his time at art. He says: 'Women have a hidden wealth. They fondly cherish their child for nine months. If you don't become an artist, you will never be able to pay their invoice to thank them for putting us in the world. Before, I was as nothing. Today I am a person talking.'

In 1995, Pume participated in an exhibition at the French Cultural Centre with a sculpture, 'The Maternity', allowing Revue Noire team to meet him. An article and the cover of the issue about Kinshasa will highlight him. All his codes are then defined in the various works he realizes then : desk, chair, costume, 'Pigs-Kiss', 'The Tourist City'… are already there. Just as the formal codes that he continues to develop as the grid (black and white board) of order and science, the showcase that protects the precious prototype and its color codes including the famous 'black-coral' or 'white-oyant' (a bright white) .

In 1997, first journey to Europe in Paris for the Revue Noire exhibition 'Suites Africaines'. Then snaps a series of prestigious group shows including 'Partage d'exotismes' at the Lyon Biennale 2000, and from 2004 'Africa Remix' (Dusseldorf in Germany, Centre Pompidou in Paris, London, Tokyo,...). A major solo exhibition 'The World According to Bylex' in Brussels in 2008 precedes the exhibition 'Why not Bylex ? Pume' at the gallery Revue Noire.

 by Jean Loup pivin, 2012

solo Exhibitions

2012 / 'Pourquoi pas Bylex ? par Pume', Revue Noire galerie, Paris and Halle de la Gombe, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo

2008 / 'The World According to Bylex', Bruxelles, Belgium

2007 / 'God is no Bylex', Cargo Media Store, Ostende, Belgium

2006 / 'Pume Bylex', CCF La Halle de la Gombe, Kinshasa, D.R.Congo

collective Exhibitions

2010 / 'Afropolis', Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne, Germany

2006 / 'Africa Remix', Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japon

2005 / 'Africa Remix', Centre Pompidou, Paris and Contemporary Art of a Continent, Hayward Gallery, London

2004 / 'Africa Remix', Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany

Espace croisé, Centre d’art contemporain de Roubaix, France

2003 / 'L’Europe fantôme', Espace Vertebra, Forest, Belgium

2000 / 'Partages d’exotismes', 5e Biennale de Lyon, France

1999 / 'Trésors d’Afrique', MC2a, Bordeaux, France

1997 / 'Suites africaines', Couvent des Cordeliers, Revue Noire exhibition, Paris

Bibliography
 

Revue Noire RN 21 'Kinshasa', March 1996

Revue Noire RN 24, dossier 'Suites africaines', December 1997

Anthologie de l’Art africain du XXe Siècle, October 2001

Anthology of African Art, The XXth Century, October 2001

The World According To Bylex, book and video CD, pbyr Filip De Boeck & Koen Van Synghel, Bruxelles, 2008