Ephemeral Congo
In August 2015, I spent three weeks in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country at the other end of the development spectrum from Canada. While Canada is a top 10 country on the Human Development Index, DRC is among the bottom 10.
This difference means that on average, Canadians live an average of 30 years more. There, the state funds almost no health care and education. Government is essentially a dictatorship characterized by corruption and an ever simmering series of uprisings and mini civil wars using child soldiers. Various civil wars have killed an estimated five million people since the country became independent in 1960.
I have worked with images and objects I brought back since 2015. Ephemeral Congo reflects how I see the country - life there is ephemeral, with poor access to education, health care, electricity, food, clean water and the basic infrastructure we take for granted. It’s also ephemeral because our awareness of DRC is almost completely blank. Any news we see lasts no more than a day. Our impressions are based on stereotypes, our story of Africa.
Some works use items I brought back and then used such as money, newspapers and plastic drinking water bags, again ephemeral items.
As any travelogue, my impressions and work are influenced first and foremost by how I see the world - with its lenses, filters and limitations. It is also constructed from what DRC presents to tourists for us to take away, a non-threatening story of their country we can put on display for people here to see. Their stories and our stories about Congo at times align, run parallel and oppose each other - that's what I tried to capture for this show that ran from June 6-17, 2018 at Gallery 1313 in Toronto. Read my thoughts about my time in DRC here.
This difference means that on average, Canadians live an average of 30 years more. There, the state funds almost no health care and education. Government is essentially a dictatorship characterized by corruption and an ever simmering series of uprisings and mini civil wars using child soldiers. Various civil wars have killed an estimated five million people since the country became independent in 1960.
I have worked with images and objects I brought back since 2015. Ephemeral Congo reflects how I see the country - life there is ephemeral, with poor access to education, health care, electricity, food, clean water and the basic infrastructure we take for granted. It’s also ephemeral because our awareness of DRC is almost completely blank. Any news we see lasts no more than a day. Our impressions are based on stereotypes, our story of Africa.
Some works use items I brought back and then used such as money, newspapers and plastic drinking water bags, again ephemeral items.
As any travelogue, my impressions and work are influenced first and foremost by how I see the world - with its lenses, filters and limitations. It is also constructed from what DRC presents to tourists for us to take away, a non-threatening story of their country we can put on display for people here to see. Their stories and our stories about Congo at times align, run parallel and oppose each other - that's what I tried to capture for this show that ran from June 6-17, 2018 at Gallery 1313 in Toronto. Read my thoughts about my time in DRC here.
Congo Youth
I glimpsed this young man for the briefest of moments by the side of the road and captured an image on camera. I wanted to interpret the image in painting while maintaining the expression of stress and the intense gaze. To stay with the ephemeral theme, I started with thin watery layers of paint and kept some of them in the final product. I wanted the process and corrections to be seen as part of the whole. It was important to maintain the roughness of the situation, moment and memory. 18 by 24 inches, acrylic on mylar. Sold.
The Future of Congo
Among the items I brought back from DRC was money, in this case 500 franc notes (about 50 cents). On them is the outline of a diamond and in it, artisanal diamond hunters panning in a stream. It seemed an apt background image - the immense mineral wealth of DRC that is not benefiting the people but subject to corruption. Fighting over that wealth is one of the driving forces for the uprisings that are constantly flaring in the country. The image is based on a photo of these boys who were looking at the car I was in. I loved their expressions - curiosity, interest, shyness. With 40 per cent of the population 14 years of age or under, I want to hope that they will have the chance to use their potential, but it’s hard not to be apprehensive about their future. 14 by 24 inches, acrylic on collaged money. Sold.
Mask on Water
In DRC, there is practically no running water available and water-borne diseases are a major health problem. One way drinking water is sold is in 600 ml plastic bags anywhere people are gathered. You bite the corner, drink and toss the bag. I collected some of these bags, collaged them and then painted my interpretation of a mask image. Masks both hide and reveal and are helpful for me to consider my interaction with the country and its peoples. 18 by 36 inches, acrylic on collaged plastic water bags. Sold.
Newspaper drawings
Newspapers are ephemeral. The paper on which they are printed does not last long. The ink smudges. What’s printed on them is meant to last a day. They are a good starting point and background for the images that stayed with me and that I felt best represented the country. The images are in conversation and relation to the newspaper content, anchoring my impressions with what journalists in that country felt were important stories of the day - or what they are allowed to publish. I used charcoal to sketch and then conté. Given the materials being used, they are wilfully messy, an expression of how I was trying to make sense of what I had seen but was foreign to me.
Newspaper drawing - Congo countryside home
This image references the realities of daily life, mainly outside cities. The house is mud walls and thatch. In the cities, houses are more likely cinderblock and a steel roof. In this case, it’s a home with no running water or electricity and a dirt floor with children nearby. The subjects look at the camera, which is typical. While this image does not come from one of my photos, I found that wherever I went, somebody was looking at me. As a white person, you are exotic and a centre of curious attention. 17 by 24 inches, conté on newspaper, $100 unframed.
Newspaper drawing - dugout canoe
Dugout canoes are present on the Congo River and in Kinshasa. They remain a way of transportation in a place where the transportation infrastructure is extremely limited. In this case, I wanted to juxtapose the story of the Congo Airways airplane on this page with the canoe. Millions don’t have access to paved roads in this vast country yet there is official pride in having a national airline carrier that can serve a minuscule number of people, letting them avoid the endemic road problems. Only when I finished the drawing did I realize that it looks like the people in the boat are looking at the computer screen, which also conjures up another set of relationships in a country where the internet is essentially turned off when social uprisings get too intense, especially in the capital, Kinshasa. 17 by 24 inches, conté on newspaper, $100 unframed.
Newspaper drawing - Woman going for water
On a newspaper page with stories about child marriage, measles and how to achieve sustained development, an image of a woman going for water fits the theme. Women and girls go for water throughout the country every day as most homes do not have running water. It’s an immense daily burden and a factor that likely contributes to many girls not going to school. This is just one of the many challenges that girls and women face in DRC where political and tribal violence always lies just under the surface. 17 by 24 inches, conté on newspaper, $200 unframed.
Newspaper drawing - Kabila dégage (Kabila leave)
Joseph Kabila has been president of DRC since 2001. His father led the successful overthrow of the previous dictator (1997) and then was assassinated (2001). Joseph Kabila took over and won two subsequent presidential elections of doubtful integrity. His term is over but he continues in office while deferring on elections for his successor. The country is becoming ever more restive with deadly suppressions of demonstrations calling him to leave. The rallying cry of anti-Kabila demonstrators is ‘Kabila dégage’ - leave now. To date, the cry is falling on deaf ears. 17 by 24 inches, conté on newspaper, $100 unframed.
Newspaper drawing - Policeman
Police officers in their blue overalls and AK-47s are a common sight. As this image implies, they are an intimidating presence. Widely acknowledged as being corrupt and prone to violence, their calm appearance covers a readiness to use extreme force. Like the army, they are largely above the law and unaccountable. These are not people you want to cross. Whoever controls the police and the army controls the country. 17 by 24 inches, conté on newspaper, $200 unframed.
Newspaper drawing - car with wood
The dominant smell in Kinshasa is that of burning wood and charcoal. Without easy access electricity and limited propane, the burning of wood is the main source of heat for food and cleaning. It means that at any hour, there are cars and trucks streaming into the city laden with immense bundles of bagged wood to meet the needs of the city’s 10 million people. It’s a wonder how some of these vehicles are can even move under their immense, heavy loads. And it’s the lived reality of why so many places in Africa are being deforested - the need for energy for millions of people. 17 by 24 inches. Conté on newspaper. $100 unframed.
Newspaper drawing - Pousse pousse (cart)
An industry exists in Kinshasa of men with improvised carts who bring goods around town as a delivery service. As most people don’t have cars or can use public transit for larger items, this service es needed to move items around. Most carts consist of a car axle with a metal box on top. This is strenuous labour as Kinshasa is a hilly city and many roads are unpaved and those that are can have enormous potholes. 17 by 24 inches, conté on newspaper, $100 unframed.
Newspaper drawing - Fleche (Arrow)
Along most roads, there are items for sale. It could be at a table, a small structure like this one, or a larger store in a sturdier building. Often, they are places where food is prepared and sold. This one sold everything from food, cell phone cards and chargers as well as gasoline. 17 by 24 inches. Conté on newspaper. $100 unframed.
Tourist paintings
Congo and Kinshasa are not tourist destinations but a single market exists where you can buy tourist items. These paintings are typical of the style meant for foreigners to put in their homes. They tell a reassuring story. It’s hard to imagine images such as these ever depicting the daily reality in a country where colonial exploitation was followed by brutal dictatorships and civil wars that have left millions dead in the last 150 years. But as stories of a happy, simple life - they succeed. Each 33 by 23 inch framed paintings purchased in DRC - not for sale.
Their story for us, our story about them
African masks are iconic in the West as icons of that continent. The ones here are tourist items. It is their story told to us for easy consumption. Under the masks are collaged pages from a 1930 book entitled ‘If I lived in Africa’. It is a European story about Africa from 80 years ago, actually cringe-worthy in its interpretations and condescension. Here stories pass beside each other, but likely do not really touch each other. What are my stories about my trip that I am getting wrong and that will induce cringes to a following generation? 15 by 48 inches. African masks hung on collaged book pages on plywood. Not for sale.
See more images on my Instagram page.