Europe

Kiripi Katembo

Survivre, from the series Un regard

2008-2013

Survivre, from the series Un regard, 2008-2013

Un regard, Kiripi Katembo’s first photographic series, came about by accident. Confronted with the hostility of local people to the camera lens, Kiripi Katembo used the reflections of puddles instead. Through the reflections of stagnant puddles, he seeks to illustrate another reality in Kinshasa than the overly-documented one of ubiquitous disorganization and chaos. This particular image, titled Survivre, depicts a child navigating a scene only visually demarcated in silhouette form. What captures the artist’s attention in this composition is the conscious or unconscious urban installation of the population. This gives rise to landscapes inhabited by shadows and objects, inviting the viewer to imagine stories of this sublimated everyday life. The titles of Katembo’s photographs in the series evoke the preoccupations, violent and real, of the people of Kinshasa. The phonetic poetry of Errer, Subir, and Tenir sound like injunctions to the people of Kinshasa from an artist who dedicated his youth and ideals to promoting his country’s culture.

Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kiripi Katembo dedicates his artistic practice to documenting and interpreting the complex reality of the Congo’s capital city, Kinshasa, through powerful images and cinematographic works. His practice is deeply rooted in the social reality of his city and reveals the challenges faced by Kinshasa's inhabitants. Using art as a means of raising awareness and mobilization, Katembo denounces the inactivity of political leaders in the face of insalubrity and pollution. As a filmmaker, Katembo’s documentary works bear witness to the social and political conditions in the Congo. With a narrative approach, he used cinema to give voice to the people of Kinshasa and to provoke reflection on the environmental issues the city faces. Katembo, who died prematurely of malaria in 2015, is recognized as one of the most influential Congolese artists of his generation.

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Kiripi Katembo Survivre, from the series Un regard

Kiripi Katembo

Survivre, from the series Un regard