In the Congo Basin stand the ruins of the Yangambi INERA Research Station, which was formerly one of the leading institutions for forestry and agricultural research. Established during Belgian colonial rule as the INEAC (National Institute for Agronomic Study of the Belgian Congo), Yangambi became a major scientific centre, before its decline after independence. Sammy Baloji uses the station’s ruined state to evoke the haunting presence of the colonial past and its continuation into the present.

Through two ghostly narrators, Baloji metaphorically brings back to life two scientists who worked at Yangambi, Paul Panda Farnana and Abiron Beirnaert, allowing them to recount their research and personal stories, and the ways it was shaped by colonial power structures. Their stories, alongside the perspective from a third non-human narrator, reveal how colonial exploitation effects both the personal and the ecological. By combining archival fragments, personal histories, and self-shot footage, Baloji reflects on how colonial legacies continue to reveal the lasting impact and global impact of Belgian colonization of Congo.

LA