In the south of Katanga, one of the richest regions in Africa and also the economic heart of Congo, towns grew up around the copper and cobalt mines. The relationship between the mining industry and the population here is almost comparable to the relationship between parents and their children. For the last ten years Sammy Baloji has been taking photographs of the memories, hopes and imaginations of these children of the mine. The historical perspective of the Mémoire series dares to invite the oppressed of yesterday into a dialogue with the ruins of today. What is shown is certainly not a stalemate, but rather an invitation to rethink society, a kind of attempt to exorcise evil spirits, to give peace to the dead, so that they no longer haunt us.
The optimism of this approach is abundantly clear in Kolwezi, where the picture is painted of a ghost town and of workers who – insofar as they can still manage it – identify with their riches and dream again of a comfortable life. And, moreover, of their thirst for dignity.
Les / The Tshokwe
€45.00The Tshokwe are a major people of Central Africa who have been present for six centuries on the borders of Zambia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their structured social organization gave them a military and commercial advantage.
Thanks to this dominant position, they have developed an artistic heritage which gradually became their main identity factor.
Today, there are two million Tshokwe, half of whom reside in Congo DRC. The people continue to assert their desire to exist through their culture. And the power of their art is internationally recognized.
This reference work allows us to discover the daily life of the Tshokwe but also their crafts, the symbolism of their masks, the power of their rites and the fervor of their popular festivals. It makes us understand how their attachment to tradition helps them to chart a course for the future.
Author Angelo Turconi has spent over fifty years photographing the artworks, culture and traditions of the DRC.
192 pagina’s
33,5 x 24 cm, hard cover