November 2021. 26 royal treasures of the Kingdom of Dahomey are about to leave Paris to return to their country of origin, the present-day Republic of Benin. Along with thousands of others, these artefacts were plundered by French colonial troops in 1892. But what attitude to adopt to these ancestors’ homecoming in a country that had to forge ahead in their absence? The debate rages among students at the University of Abomey-Calavi. Is the return of a small portion of looted artefacts after years of formal efforts really a cause for (triumphal) celebration, or is it just another gracious gesture of the all-powerful West? And have you ever considered what the silent statues – if only they had a voice – would have to say about their repatriation more than a century later.
“The idea came in the wake of Emmanuel Macron's speech in 2017, when the French president suddenly announced that all African heritage would have to be returned within five years. The announcement /…/ was like a kind of slap in the face. The slap in the face was the realization that the question of African heritage, monopolized by European museums, was something I had never thought about.” (Mati Diop)