Ode to Africa Joint Pavilion

130 X 194 cm     ac     2010/10/17

The Africa Joint Pavilion is composed of 42 countries, and presents the past and the future of the African continent. Visitors can learn about the development of African countries, urban transformation, economic rise and cultural prosperity in Africa.
 
In this painting, we see two big faces from “Smiling Africa,” the huge relief presenting different races in large-scale, close-up portraits, and a mother breastfeeding a baby. Besides these, we also find some wood carvings, boats, an elephant, a giraffe, a camel — all under the protection of the beautiful Victoria Mountain. Dr. Chen also included some faces from Picasso’s Les Moiselles d’Avignon, as a famous example of how the simplified, straightforward and expressive African art has influenced Western modern art.