Fransix Tenda

This work has been kindly donated by the artist

Amsterdam, Artist's In Residence Studio, Rijksakademie, June 2023

Fransix Tenda is a multidisciplinary artist currently undertaking a research project Le Choc Est Là initiated between the Jardin Rouge in Morocco and Switzerland. This endeavour explores pain and pleasure through the history of chocolate production, interrogating its cultural, economic, political, social, and geopolitical impact within the cocoa supply chain. Tenda’s work intertwines elements from his parents' archives in Congo with visuals sourced from leading chocolate companies' historical records, resulting in expansive paintings that serve as the foundation for his video animations. These drawings narrate distinct yet interconnected tales about human connections and relationships in the production and consumption of raw materials like cocoa, offering personal reflections on the collective memories of post-colonial societies. They illuminate the bittersweet reality that the pleasure derived from chocolate is inextricably linked with suffering, creating a thought-provoking body of work dealing with the interplay between history, culture, and commerce.