A few words about your artistic career
Initiator and Artistic Director of Laboratoi'art, my artistic practice spans a range of media, combining photography, video, performance and installation, with a focus on issues relating to my country, the Democratic Republic of Congo.
How long have you been an artist?
I've been an artist for 10 years.
Why did you apply for this scholarship? How will the scholarship support you?
I applied for this grant to have the opportunity to express myself and show the general public what my head is thinking about.
This grant supports me by giving me access to the tools and advantages that enable me to make visible the ideas and thoughts buried inside me.
What are your concrete artistic objectives after this residency?
My main aim is to be able to see a breakthrough in the way I approach the world as an artist, and to broaden my vision and perspective in the field of contemporary art through the network I'll be weaving in "Creativity is life".
**What did you achieve during this creative residency? What was the result (work created)?
During my residency, I worked on a project that combined photography, installations and exhibitions, culminating in a video.
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?
By their very nature, these activities enabled those who were able to attend to learn about the ways in which we need to think about the new ways in which our African cities are functioning. With COVID-19 and above all its consequences, it was a question of seeing how much we need to be preventive when it comes to putting in place adequate infrastructures capable of preventing chaos of all kinds...
How did you feel during the residency? And afterwards?
It was an enormous joy to work on this project, because it allowed me to work in conditions that I would always like to have. The work was produced at 90 %, just as I expected. I encountered quite a few difficulties, such as: Photographing the commune of Gombe, in the centre of Kinshasa (my target), which was confined and completely inaccessible, especially for taking pictures. I had to negotiate with the security services... The other difficulties related to the technical aspect, in particular the printing of the main mosaic photo, which had to be printed in large format. As I couldn't get the result I wanted from our printers in the city, I printed card by card and then mounted it to get 3.78 x 2.40m.
And to tell the truth, I'm satisfied with this result.
[(
Dead city
)]
