MAPS Lunch Lecture - Renzo Martens
Upon invitation of the
Renzo Martens, is a Dutch artist who currently lives and works in Amsterdam and Kinshasa. In his conceptual documentary films Episode I (2003) and Episode III: Enjoy Poverty (2008) Martens used his position as an artist to highlight the exploitation of underprivileged people by media industries and cultural producers.
Episode III, also known as 'Enjoy Poverty', is the 90-minute film registration of Renzo Martens' activities in the Congo. In an epic journey, the film establishes that images of poverty are the Congo’s most lucrative export, generating more revenue than traditional exports like gold, diamonds, or cocoa. However, just as with these traditional exports, those that provide the raw material: the poor being filmed, hardly benefit from it at all.