[Untitled 'Mickey' painting]

Jacques Zigoma

Congolese painter Jacques Zigoma often signed his works with the triple "P's" of the 'Poto Poto School of Painting', or Atelier des Peintures de Poto Poto. The school was founded in colonial Congo in 1951 by Pierre Lods (nephew of Jean Lods), in the city of Brazzaville. Lods' aim was to provide a space for creation using modern mediums without employing contemporary stylistic interference. The works of the students at PPP became popular enough to allow expansion and the sales of the works signed "P.P.P." were divided evenly between the students and the school. Zigoma became one of the most recognized artists of the school's post-colonial age, appearing in Life magazine in 1966.

Quoted from the Rhodes College 'History of the Poto-Poto School': "[Lods] did not enforce formal courses or impose any specific discipline that would limit the artists’ imaginations. The artists were encouraged to work freely in oil and gouache from whatever inspired them, as long as it was authentic to their own culture. Because Europeans had historically dismissed African art as primitive, Lods aimed to counteract this assumption by providing African artists with a space to express their creativity and voice their experiences through art. Lods would purportedly only give a technical critique of an artist’s use of certain colors after a painting was finished, but the style and subject matter was left to the discretion of each artist."

"The artists of the Poto-Poto School produced varying styles that shared common themes from daily life in the Congo. One of the most prominent of these styles seen in the work of multiple artists is the “Mickeys” style... This style, most popular in the 1950s...is characterized by simplified figures composed of black lines implying movement that recall animation sketches. They are thus referred to as “Mickeys” as a reference to Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse animated character."