Black Gold

Black Gold is a collection of ceramic objects by artist Ré Phillips that visualizes the Dutch  Black Atlantic during the height of the Netherlands’ 17th & 18th century empire. Phillips,  who describes herself as a storyteller, approaches this migration story from a deeply  personal lens and weaves together historical narratives with bright colors, high gloss shine,  and funky textiles. 

The work, which includes African masks and bowls sculpted from clay, depicts the Dutch  empire in Africa and contemplates the experiences of both well-known and little-known  colonies controlled by the Dutch West India Company and the Dutch East India Company:  Ghana, Namibia, South Africa, Loango-Angola, and Senegambia. 

In addition to exploring the Netherlands’ colonial trading posts in Africa, the work also  incorporates material culture that emerged from its massive trading empire and questions  its afterlife on the Continent. For example, how did the Java 

inspired Dutch fabric (Vlisco) created over 170 years ago in Helmond evolve to become  ‘African’? What does the country Togo have to do with it? Can we consider Dutch wax  print 'African'? Or is it still Dutch? Or perhaps has it now taken on a life of its own? 

Through the eyes of seven contemporary and reimagined African masks, Phillips encourages its onlookers to peer into the colonial past to contemplate  African futures. Ultimately, she hopes to alchemize these socio-political narratives into  works of beauty, hope, and fascination, for both the viewers and herself.