Making Divine

Oliver Leu’s zine Making Divine is based on a picture postcard from the early 20th century. Taken during festivities at the military barrack of Beverloo, this postcard depicts the re-enactment of a colonial monument during a historical play dedicated to Joseph Lippens and Henri De Bruyne, two military men who served in the Force Publique of king Leopold II’s Congo Free State during the 1890s.
In Making Divine the postcard’s motive is reproduced fragmented — shifting the reader’s attention from the apotheosis of the scene to individual actions — emphasizing details, gestures, and the body language of those enacting the De Bruyne – Lippens Monument. A monument that still stands in the Belgian seaside town of Blankenberge today.