Renzo Martens

Renzo Martens (1973) studied political science and art. After creating the films 'Episode I' and 'Episode III: Enjoy Poverty', Martens founded Human Activities and its "reverse gentrification programme" on a plantation in the DRC. He supports the plantation workers of the Cercle d'Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise (CATPC) by using artistic criticism to build a new world - not symbolically, but materially. Together, they established the White Cube to give capital and visibility back to communities of plantation workers. In Martens' latest documentary 'White Cube', CATPC sets a new precedent and successfully uses the concept of the 'white cube' to liberate their land and restore ancient forests.