The Vibrant Congolese New Art Scene is Shaking Things Up!

by Anna Sansom, journalist

The Democratic Republic of Congo is renowned for the popular paintings of artists Chéri Samba, Moke, Chéri Chérin and the imaginary city-sculptures by Bodys Isek Kingelez. These artists emerged during the presidency of Mobutu Sese Seko in the years following independence from Belgium. Now, an upcoming generation is reflecting upon the country’s post-colonial history, its fragile geopolitical situation and the exploitation of natural resources.

Works by artists from different generations were assembled in the exhibitions ‘Béauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko’ at the Fondation Cartier in Paris in 2015 and ‘Fiction Congo’ at Switzerland’s Museum Rietberg in 2019-2020.

The desire of younger artists to challenge the status quo was evident during Yango II, the second edition of the Biennale de Kinshasa, from July 14  to August 14, 2022. The biennale was founded in 2014 by Kiripi Katembo, a painter, video artist and photographer who died prematurely of cerebral malaria at the age of 36 in 2015.

Curated by Marseille-based art historian Alonso Gómez and French-Congolese philosopher Nadia Yala Kisukidi, Yango II was held across several venues in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital. Its title, ‘Tokozela lobi te/Nous n’attendrons pas demain’ (We won’t wait for tomorrow), highlighted the sense of agency.

“By claiming Kinshasa as a hub of the planetary art scene, Yango II stirs the Kinshasan, Congolese situation up to resound, and to reason, with other contemporary conditions,” the curators said in a statement.

A case in point was the performance of Congolese artist Sarah Ndele. In the middle of an unpaved street, she ripped apart the brown paper wrapping her whole body – a metaphor for the artist’s frustration. On Instagram, Sarah Ndele wrote: “Nous devons sortir de notre zone de confort ! L’heure est arrivée où nous devons sortir de ce carcan enfin de faire évoluer le monde ou bien l’Afrique.” (Translation: We need to get out of our comfort zone! The time has come to finally get out of this straitjacket to change the world or Africa.”)

The rallying cry is indicative of how the upcoming generation of artists is engaging with society. “These young artists, coming after the generation of popular painters, aren’t confined to the studio but go towards the public and are raising post-colonial questions,” says Christophe Person, a Paris-based gallerist.

Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga is among the young artists who are exploring the economic, political and social shifts that have taken place in the DRC since colonialism. Born in 1991, Kamuanga Ilunga studied at the Académie des Beaux-Arts de Kinshasa and co-founded a group studio, M’Pongo, where young artists could exhibit together. Since October Gallery in London held Kamuanga Ilunga’s first solo show in 2016, the artist has been included in exhibitions in the US and at London’s Saatchi Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts.

In Kamuanga Ilunga’s large-scale paintings, the figures set against empty monochromatic backgrounds seem languid and forlorn. The emanating sense of sadness alludes to the loss of culture and impact of consumerism. One such example is ‘Fragile’ (2019) of a dispirited mother and daughter, both with their hands on their heads and leaning on a table, which sold for £119,700 at Phillips in 2021, far surpassing the £35,00-£55,000 estimate.

Hilary Balu, meanwhile, tackles colonial history, the slave trade, migration and how globalisation has influenced African society. He reinterprets stylistic characteristics of Western Old Masters in order to make large-scale imaginary paintings rich in drama and narrative. Born in 1992, he also studied at the Académie des Beaux-Arts de Kinshasa and has recently completed a residency at Black Rock Senegal, founded by African-American artist Kehinde Wiley. Magnin-A sold several of his paintings for €60,000-€70,000 at Paris + par Art Basel in October 2022. His work has also been presented at 1-54 in Marrakech.

Indeed, artists are addressing a wide gamut of political and historical issues concerning the African continent. In his multi-media practice encompassing sculpture, video and installations, Sammy Baloji researches how identity and geopolitics could be reconfigured. In his photography and video work, the Brussels and Lubumbashi-based artist deals with the exploitation and displacement of people and mining of resources like copper and cobalt. Baloji’s exhibition ‘K(C)ongo, Fragments of Interlaced Dialogues’ at the Beaux-Arts in Paris questioned why tribal African arts are often classified as ethnographical objects rather than being integrated in the cannon of art history. Meanwhile, black-and-white abstract paintings based on African motifs suggested a repositioning of the visual language of tribal arts.

How foreigners have exploited Africa, in terms of natural resources and national identities, is also raised by Sinzo Aanza (the artist name of Luhindi K. Sinzomene – a visual artist and writer). Through photography and installations, he investigates the political situation in the DRC and how the country “has always belonged to investors, preferably foreigners”, as quoted on the website of his gallery, Imane Fares.

Several artists convey the chaos of Kinshasa in their work. Houston Maludi captures its bustling energy and density in monochromatic, highly detailed cityscapes inspired by Cubism that, from a distance, recall abstract paintings. “He shows the multi-facetedness of Kinshasa, its streets and the profiles of characters in detail,” Person says. One of Maludi’s dark blue untitled paintings from 2019 fetched €28,600 at Piasa in May 2019, more than twice the estimate of €8,000-€12,000.

Raymond Tsham Mateng, meanwhile, dwells on the collision between African heritage and consumerism in ballpoint paintings. Through a visual language incorporating distinctive motifs, he revisits the imagery of African carved figurines and ancestral statues alongside emblems of pop culture like Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse. Other works hint at how the west benefited from slavery, such as African tribal figures forming a shape like the Eiffel Tower. His auction record is ‘Famille endeuillée et vengeance (Mourning family and revenge)’, 2016, which fetched €6,500 at Piasa in 2022.

By contrast, JP Mika prefers to portray a modern, dynamic, joyful vision of Africa in paintings inspired by the DRC’s independence and daily life in Kinshasa. Born in 1980 as Jean-Paul Nsimba Mika, JP Mika apprenticed at the ARAP, Atelier de Recherche en Art Populaire (Atelier of Research and Popular Art), founded by his mentor Chéri Chérin after graduating from the Académie des Beaux-Arts de Kinshasa. Besides making self-portraits, he depicts fashionably dressed, smiling figures – from local inhabitants to former American President Barack Obama – set against flora and fauna or ornate backdrops.

“In my painting, there is no news, no political message, no criticism. There are too many difficulties and misery in life. That’s why I want you to always feel hope in my paintings,” he says in a statement on Magnin-A’s website which sells his paintings priced at around €30,000.

Several artists use humour and irony as a ploy to explore societal subjects. Willys Kezi’s acrylic paintings on paper bags depict voluptuous modern women, as if seen through the voyeuristic male gaze. In her works on view at Eric Dupont’s stand at Drawing Now in Paris in March 2023, the female bodies incorporate small drawings and writing, such as euros and China (referring to the EU and China exploiting the DRC). Then there is Pathy Tshindele who injects satirical humour into brightly coloured, idiosyncratic portraits of historical and military figures in allusion to the corruption of officials.

Among the artists investigating identity and landscape, one also discovers the wide-ranging multi-media practice of Michèle Magema, who is represented by Irène Laub Gallery in Brussels. Other artists reflecting on social issues include the young photographers Raïssa Karama Rwizibuka and Gosette Lubondo. Rwizibuka captures the daily life of inhabitants in her town Bukavu and the injustices and violence faced by women in the DRC. She was selected by the Maison Européenne de la Photographie and the Collection Gervanne and Matthias Leridon to complete a residency at the Cité internationale des Arts in Paris in 2022.

Lubondo, meanwhile, works memory, remnants of history, legacy, individuals and abandoned places in her staged images. Following her project, ‘Imaginary Trip I’ (2016) – a series of fictional portraits set in a derelict train carriage, Lubondo was invited for a photographic residency at the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. Her ensuing project, ‘Imaginary Trip II’, is situated in a former rural boarding school established by a Christian brotherhood during Belgian colonialism. The school fell into disuse after the brotherhood sold it to Mobutu’s government in the 1970s. Gubondo’s images, featuring fictive school children against a haunted backdrop, question the nostalgic dream of education associated with her parents’ generation and the complexity of post-colonalism.