106
TRIBAL people
STEFFEN
PATZWAHL
A Man of
Enlightened Vision
Interview by Noëlle Ghilain
About ten of us are waiting in line to get
in. I hear peacocks and parrots cawing in the distance,
and the scents of nature and fl owers fi ll the
spring air. A few minutes later, Steffen makes his
appearance. His fi rm and friendly handshake, his
self-assured demeanor, and his broad and sincere
smile invite us to follow him.
His house is located a few meters from the entrance
to the Pairi Daiza, the famous animal park
a few miles from the city of Mons in Belgium that
has recently been named the best zoo in Europe.
As I passed through the door to his place, I
had the impression I was entering into a palace
of a thousand treasures. Unusual sculptures were
everywhere, illuminated by enchanting light
fi xtures. A collection of korwars adorned the
mantelpiece and Buddha statuettes were grouped
together in a recessed niche, side by side with
old maps. A group of shrunken heads elegantly
lined up on a cabinet echoed the New Guinea
fi gures and the Australian shields visible in nooks
elsewhere in the room. In front of a library
overfi lled with books on exotic voyages, a superb
albatross appeared to be fl ying off above our
heads. The sounds of Gregorian chant, for which,
he later told us, he has a particular fondness,
were the musical backdrop to this scene. The
ambience certainly was conducive to speaking in
confi dence.
Comfortably seated on a large and well-worn
leather sofa, German-born Steffen Patzwahl,
who has lived in Belgium for nearly thirty years,
answered my questions in perfect French, which
he learned after he moved here.
FIG. 1 (left):
Mask, tatanua.
New Ireland.
All photos © Roar Atelier.
FIG. 2 (bottom left):
Steffen Patzwahl.
FIG. 3 (below):
Axe. Neanderthal. 80,000 BP.
When he was just seven years old,
Steffen and two friends discovered
this axe. It represents the beginning
of his collection.