A few words about your artistic career
I'm originally from Goma, where I frequented the Yole Africa cultural centre for years. It was there that I took part in a number of photography and film workshops. My photos were notably exhibited as part of "Transcend" in Nottingham and New York in 2018.
How long have you been an artist?
I actually started my artistic life with dance when I was 14 in 2011.
Why did you apply for this scholarship? How will the scholarship support you?
This bursary is a breath of fresh air that will enable me to devote myself entirely to this project during July and August. I'll have the means to travel to the most remote towns and I'll be able to buy a permit to photograph freely.
What are your concrete artistic objectives after this residency?
After this residency, I'd like to set up a photo studio in Kinshasa and pursue both artistic and commercial photography and video.
What did you achieve during this creative residency? What is the result (work created)? Who was involved in the creative process?
During the creative process, I was able to produce a series of 24 photos, including 3 instant photos and 21 composite photos. They aim to raise awareness of the reality of COVID-19 throughout the world and particularly in my own country.
How do you think these activities help us to think about the world today, in relation to the COVID-19 crisis, and/or about building for the future?
The COVID-19 disease is an important subject for reflection. It is important to relay reliable information and to check the facts by consulting reliable sources of information.
My photography project on the "Creativity is life" residency provides real information, help and expertise in my field of activities in representation and otherwise.
How did you feel during the residency? And afterwards?
During this residency, I was deeply affected by the upheaval that the coronavirus (COVID-19) has brought to African society.
Given my artistic abilities, I was able to produce my work at 80%, not least because of the difficulties I encountered in my home town of Kinshasa in the DRC: a world where there is no freedom of expression. I was warned several times by the Congolese police while I was taking snapshots in the street, despite the filming authorisation I had from Kinshasa town hall.
I'm proud and satisfied with the final result that the "Creativity Is Life" grant enabled me to achieve.
