"Without a model, you are nowhere. A nation that can't make models is a nation that doesn't understand things, a nation that doesn't live." Bodys Isek Kingelez (1948–2015)
Most of us think cities and urban developments should be planned by architects and civil engineers, but, after seeing the models of urban landscapes created by the late Bodys Isek Kingelez, you will start wondering if visionary artists should help as well.
Characterised by futuristic shapes and silhouettes, Kingelez's models of cities and buildings look indeed colourful and fun, like the maquettes for a sci-fi film about an optimistic and bright future. 
"Bodys Isek Kingelez: City Dreams", the artist's first major retrospective currently on at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA; until 1st January 2019), allows visitors to immerse themselves in these imaginative sets and discover more about the models and the urban scapes developed by Kingelez.
The late artist's cities occupy the Philip Johnson Galleries and introduce visitors to Kingelez's dreams about a future and harmonious society developed in and around imagined buildings.
Born Jean Baptiste in 1948 in the agricultural village of Kimbembele-Ihunga in the Democratic Republic of Congo (at the time Belgian Congo), Kingelez moved to Kinshasa in the '70s.
He studied part-time while teaching at a school and then started working as a restorer of traditional masks and tribal relics at the National Museum in Kinshasa, where he worked until 1985. 
At the same time, he started creating some of his first artworks, mainly single buildings, but soon progressed onto fantastic and utopian cities (he claimed his first maquette came to him in a dream).
His craftsmanship came from watching men making masks or working at the forge in his traditional village: made of cardboard, paper, cigarette packs, drinking straws, styrofoam, tinfoil, tape, tins, bottle caps and other discarded or humble materials scavenged from the streets of Kinshasa, the models represented future visions for African megacities, while hinting at recycling, a practice found in Kinshasa and in other African cities (even when he had the money to develop his sculptures in much better ways, Kingelez kept on using found materials).
In his life Kingelez created more than 300 models, featuring parks, stadiums, hotels, restaurants, banks, monuments, schools, universities, buildings for public gatherings, places of worship, modern stations for high-speed transportation and skyscrapers.
Kingelez had an interest in real-world events and showed his concern for social issues by adding dedicated buildings such as The Scientific Center of Hospitalisation the SIDA, an integrated hospital and lab facility to respond to the AIDS crisis made from paper packaging from malaria medication (among the other materials) and characterised by a rainbow palette, a feature that made it free from the sterility and coldness typically associated with such buildings.
The Palais d'Hirochima (1991) addressed instead the condition of post-war Japan; U.N. (1995) was conceived as a campus for the United Nations to mark the organization's 50th anniversary, while his "New Manhattan (Manhattan City 3021)" (not in the MoMA show), built a year after the attack on the World Trade Center, proposed a third tower filled with water with a "cooling effect" to prevent any bombs from exploding.
Among his most famous pieces there are Ville Fantôme ("Phantom City," 1995), Project Pour le Kinshasa du Troisième Millénaire ("Kinshasa: Project for the Third Millennium," 1997) and La Ville du Futur ("City of the Future," 2000), that in the past were featured in exhibitions in prestigious institutions such as the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
The 33 models on view at MoMA include single buildings and urban scapes, created between 1980 and 2007, in an installation designed by the German artist Carsten Höller.
The pieces are utopian sculptures that seem to have been blessed by the postmodernist wand of the Memphis Milano group: they look like toys, even though their shapes evoke at times architectures from different places and eras, including Japan and the Soviet Union, rendered in festive pastels or vibrant shades.
Kingelez actually started travelling in 1989, so his architectures and aesthetics were probably more inspired by colonial Belgian Art Deco buildings and the ambitious structures that ruler and military dictator Mobutu Sese Seko wanted to build to express his power and influence, such as the Tour de l'Échangeur, begun in 1971 but never fully completed.
Curators compiled on the opening wall label for the retrospective a long list of materials employed by Kingelez: when you examine them carefully, Kingelez's cities reveal themselves as meticulously curated assemblages in which repurposed paper, commercial packaging, fabrics, yarns, threads, beads, toothpicks, pins, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, ballpoint-pen shafts, circuit-board diodes and electric lights were rearranged to form a fairytale landscape.
Yet Kingelez felt that, through his "extrêmes maquettes" ("extreme models"), he wasn't presenting magical lands, but providing an alternative to his own experience of urban life in Kinshasa.
Among the themes tackled via his maquettes there are therefore exponential growth, economic inequity, how communities and societies function, and the rehabilitative power of architecture.
In one of his models, Kingelez re-imagined his native village of Kimbembele Ihunga as a complex metropolis incorporating also a stadium entitled to himself and a statue honouring his father.
This brave new world was also conceived by Kingelez as a regeneration project: the artist transformed Kinshasa, also known as "La Poubelle" (The Trashcan), into "La Belle" (The Beautiful) coming up with a building surrounded by decorative blue butterflies and topped with a pagoda.
The ingenious decorative palette employed by the artist may also have had a fashion derivation: Kingelez was indeed a sapeur, a representative of the Congolese Sape (Society of Tastemakers and Elegant People), a movement of elegant dapper dressers who are into dandyism and have a penchant for flamboyant colours, polished tailoring and attention to detail.
Featuring many pieces from the Pigozzi Collection, the exhibition at MoMA also includes a virtual reality rendition of Ville Fantôme (1996) by Third Pillar.
Visitors can immerse themselves in a digital scape and experience one of Kingelez's large-scale city sculptures (this is widely considered as the artist' masterwork as it took him two years to create and incorporates 50 buildings), the utopian and peaceful "Phantom City".
This multicultural town has eliminated all boundaries and barriers, even those between the living and the dead, it incorporates indeed a handy bridge of death that allows citizens to travel back and forth between both realms. In this city crafted for peace there are no doctors, soldiers or police forces because they are simply not needed. 
In the exhibition catalogue, architect David Adjaye states that Kingelez's dioramas are "less a city than a representation of a hyper-condition that, if it were to become a reality, would drive us mad."
You don't actually need to be a professional architect or urban planner to realise that the buildings in Kingelez's maquettes couldn't have been built. But that's exactly why they are beautiful as they are – they represent something ideal, untouched by the gritty reality of life, places where harmony, prosperity, equality and equity can prevail.
Kingelez considered himself a designer, architect, sculptor, engineer and artist, but maybe he was also a cosmopolitan Afrofuturist. He knew he may not have seen one of his multicultural cities becoming a reality while he was alive (he died in 2015 at 66), but his models are tangible proposals for a happy utopia and, in our globally uncertain times, we definitely need such welcoming and joyously chaotic places where we can dream about a brave new world and society.
Image credits for this post
1. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Ville Fantôme. 1996. Paper, paperboard, plastic and other various materials, 47 1/4” × 8′ 8 7⁄16″× 7′ 10 1⁄2″ (120 × 570 × 240 cm). CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection, Geneva. © Bodys Isek Kingelez / Photo: Maurice Aeschimann. Courtesy CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection
2. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Untitled. c. 1980. Paper, paperboard, and other various materials, 32 15/16 × 14 7/8 × 9 5/8″ (83.6 × 37.8 × 24.5 cm). Private collection, Paris. Photograph by Kleinefenn
3. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Untitled (detail). c. 1980. Paper, paperboard, and other various materials, 32 15/16 × 14 7/8 × 9 5/8″ (83.6 × 37.8 × 24.5 cm). Private collection, Paris. Photograph by Kleinefenn
4. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Paris Nouvel. 1989. Paper, paperboard, and other various materials, 33 7/16 × 24 × 27 9/16″ (85 × 61 × 70 cm). Long-term loan from the Centre national des arts plastiques, France to the Château d’Oiron, France, FNAC 981003. © Cnap (France) / droits résérves; photograph by Frédéric Pignoux, Studio Ludo
5. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Paris Nouvel (detail). 1989. Paper, paperboard, and other various materials, 33 7/16 × 24 × 27 9/16″ (85 × 61 × 70 cm). Long-term loan from the Centre national des arts plastiques, France to the Château d’Oiron, France, FNAC 981003. © Cnap (France) / droits résérves; photograph by Frédéric Pignoux, Studio Ludo
6. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Stars Palme Bouygues. 1989. Paper, paperboard, and other various materials, 39 3/8 × 15 3/4 × 15 3/4″ (100 × 40 × 40 cm). van Lierde collection, Brussels. Vincent Everarts Photography Brussels
7. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Stars Palme Bouygues (detail). 1989. Paper, paperboard, and other various materials, 39 3/8 × 15 3/4 × 15 3/4″ (100 × 40 × 40 cm). van Lierde collection, Brussels. Vincent Everarts Photography Brussels
8. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Africanisch. 1994. Paper, paperboard, plastic, and other various materials, 19 11/16 × 22 7/16 × 24″ (50 × 57 × 61 cm). Private collection, Paris. Photograph by Kleinefenn.
9. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Africanisch (detail). 1994. Paper, paperboard, plastic, and other various materials, 19 11/16 × 22 7/16 × 24″ (50 × 57 × 61 cm). Private collection, Paris. Photograph by Kleinefenn.
10. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). U.N. 1995. Paper, paperboard, and other various materials, 35 13/16 × 29 1/8 × 20 7/8″ (91 × 74 × 53 cm), irreg. CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection, Geneva. © Bodys Isek Kingelez / Photo: Maurice Aeschimann. Courtesy CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection
11. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). U.N. (detail). 1995. Paper, paperboard, and other various materials, 35 13/16 × 29 1/8 × 20 7/8″ (91 × 74 × 53 cm), irreg. CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection, Geneva. © Bodys Isek Kingelez / Photo: Maurice Aeschimann. Courtesy CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection
12. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Kimbembele Ihunga. 1994. Paper, paperboard, plastic, and other various materials, 51 3/16″ x 72 13/16″ x 10′ 5″ (130 × 185 × 320 cm). CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection, Geneva. © Bodys Isek Kingelez / Photo: Maurice Aeschimann. Courtesy CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection
13. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Kimbembele Ihunga (detail). 1994. Paper, paperboard, plastic, and other various materials, 51 3/16″ x 72 13/16″ x 10′ 5″ (130 × 185 × 320 cm). CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection, Geneva. © Bodys Isek Kingelez / Photo: Maurice Aeschimann. Courtesy CAAC-The Pigozzi Collection
14. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Place de la Ville. 1993. Paper, paperboard, plastic, and other various materials, 15 3/4 × 33 7/16 × 29 1/2″ (40 × 85 × 75 cm). Courtesy The Museum of Everything
15. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Kinshasa la Belle. 1991. Paper, paperboard, and other various materials, 24 13/16 × 21 5/8 × 31 1/2″ (63 × 55 × 80 cm). CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection, Geneva. © Bodys Isek Kingelez / Photo: Maurice Aeschimann. Courtesy CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection
16. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Kinshasa la Belle (detail). 1991. Paper, paperboard, and other various materials, 24 13/16 × 21 5/8 × 31 1/2″ (63 × 55 × 80 cm). CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection, Geneva. © Bodys Isek Kingelez / Photo: Maurice Aeschimann. Courtesy CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection
17. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Belle Hollandaise. 1991. Paper, paperboard, and other various materials, 21 5/8 × 31 11/16 × 22 1/16″ (55 × 80.5 × 56 cm). Collection Groninger Museum. Photograph by Marten de Leeuw.
18. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Belle Hollandaise (detail). 1991. Paper, paperboard, and other various materials, 21 5/8 × 31 11/16 × 22 1/16″ (55 × 80.5 × 56 cm). Collection Groninger Museum. Photograph by Marten de Leeuw.
19. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Ville Fantôme (detail). 1996. Paper, paperboard, plastic and other various materials, 47 1/4″ × 224 7/16 × 94 1/2″ (120 × 570 × 240 cm). CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection, Geneva. © Bodys Isek Kingelez / Photo: Maurice Aeschimann. Courtesy CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection
20. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Sports Internationaux. 1997. Paper, plastic, and other various materials, 35 7/16 × 33 7/16 × 9 13/16″ (90 × 85 × 25 cm), irreg. Purchased 2013 with funds from Tim Fairfax, AM, through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation. Collection Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane. © QAGOMA, Natasha Harth
21. Bodys Isek Kingelez (Congolese, 1948-2015). Ville de Sète 3009. 2000. Paper, paperboard, plastic, and other various materials, 31 1/2 × 9′ 10 1⁄8″ × 6′ 10 11⁄16″ (80 × 300 × 210 cm). Collection Musée International des Arts Modestes (MIAM), Sète, France. © Pierre Schwartz ADAGP; courtesy Musée International des Arts Modestes (MIAM), Sète, France
22. Screen capture of Bodys Isek Kingelez’s Ville Fantôme: Virtual Reality Tour. Image courtesy of Third Pillar VR and Plastic Demo.
23. Screen capture of Bodys Isek Kingelez’s Ville Fantôme: Virtual Reality Tour. Image courtesy of Third Pillar VR and Plastic Demo.