This book was published in the occasion of the exhibition series by the Belgian artist Sven Augustijnen at Wiels Contemporary Art Centre in Brussels (May to July 2011), at Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen (12 August until 9 October 2011), Kunsthalle Bern (autumn 2011) and de Appel in Amsterdam (November 2011 to January 2012). The heart of the exhibitions is «Spectres», an unusual filmic essay which does not take a concordant position but mixes journalism and politics, history, documentation and art.
The publication «Spectres» provides background information about the events surrounding the assassination of the first prime minister of the independent Congo, Patrice Lumumba, as well as the consequences of colonialism for the Congo. Through an interview with a contemporary witness, open letters, essays, photos and printed speeches (by the Belgian King Baudouin as well as by Patrice Lumumba at Palais de la Nation on 30 June 1960) it provides deeper acquaintance with the topics treated in Augustijnen’s film.