Pędzel zamiast karabinu – sztuka jako sprzeciw polityczny. Niepokorna twórczość Ramona Esono Ebalé z Gwinei Równikowej

Abstract

Postcolonial history of Equatorial Guinea is marked by dictatorships: Francisco Macías (1968–1979) first and then Teodoro Obiang (from 1979 r.). The first president murdered one third of the Guinea’s population, mostly those well educated: professors, doctors, engineers, lawyers, writers and artists. The now ruling president is responsible for torturing, intimidating and oppressing the next generations of the Guinea’s people. The state itself is facing a very painful political issues from the point of view of the citizens – traumatic experiences of the dictatorships, no freedom of speech and persecution of the opposition members. The economic issues are caused by corruption and demoralization of the ruling elite which is visible in the wealth’s redistribution of the reach Guinea’s soil and in the lack of the necessities. The social issues are caused by the messy educational and medical systems, as well as by the lack of the proper infrastructure. All of the above became the main topic of the rebellious works by Ramón Esono Ebalé (born in 1977), self-made artist, who in his illustrations, drawings and comic books tries to show the regime’s crimes. The works by Esono which we are about to analyze show how absurd and tragic the Guinea’s reality has become. We read them as an intentional, lucid and consequently projected struggle against the dictatorship.