Kinshasa, 23 Octobre 2020,-
︎︎︎french version
« Kabeya is staring in the middle of the Boulevard du 30 juin. He’s waiting to be enthroned carrying the Mabele Ya Mboka* , the large winged armor made of steel by his creator, Junior Mvunzi.
The heat is overwhelming but carrying a sculpture like this is a challenge and an honor. The hardship, the pain, the sweat, the clenched fists… Kabeya knows them only too well. He knows where it hurts. Besides, everything is possible here in Kinshasa. And you’re never really alone here. Especially with the « MABELE YA MBOKA »* on your shoulders.
« Kabeya is staring in the middle of the Boulevard du 30 juin. He’s waiting to be enthroned carrying the Mabele Ya Mboka* , the large winged armor made of steel by his creator, Junior Mvunzi.
The heat is overwhelming but carrying a sculpture like this is a challenge and an honor. The hardship, the pain, the sweat, the clenched fists… Kabeya knows them only too well. He knows where it hurts. Besides, everything is possible here in Kinshasa. And you’re never really alone here. Especially with the « MABELE YA MBOKA »* on your shoulders.
Kabeya thinks about his own struggles...
Living in Kinshasa, wandering these streets is a perpetual struggle, a quest, an odyssey whose outcome remains uncertain, mediocre, grandiose or both. No chance to find a striking balance. Kinshasa is a melody, as sharp as sweet that takes the guts, with its defects, its beauty and hidden treasures.
Kin "La Belle" likes to taunt. She enjoys destabilizing you, leaving you speechless even if it means showing the worst of herself, with its indecipherable codes, its language sometimes difficult to translate, its laws and paradoxes which leave you speechless. That's what Kinshasa enjoys the most!
The war cries, the provocative looks, insults, laughters... leaving you completely exhausted, hungry, on the ground.
Living in Kinshasa, wandering these streets is a perpetual struggle, a quest, an odyssey whose outcome remains uncertain, mediocre, grandiose or both. No chance to find a striking balance. Kinshasa is a melody, as sharp as sweet that takes the guts, with its defects, its beauty and hidden treasures.
Kin "La Belle" likes to taunt. She enjoys destabilizing you, leaving you speechless even if it means showing the worst of herself, with its indecipherable codes, its language sometimes difficult to translate, its laws and paradoxes which leave you speechless. That's what Kinshasa enjoys the most!
The war cries, the provocative looks, insults, laughters... leaving you completely exhausted, hungry, on the ground.
She doesn’t , elle ne se laisse pas dompter aisément, il faut la mériter.
« Ça va? » dis-je à Kabeya.
Il se redresse et me dit « Ouais, ouais! » avec ce ton nonchalant qui lui va si bien.
Il n’y a rien d’autre à ajouter.
Et C’est beau à voir. La photo est là.
Un court instant d’éternité, arraché à Kin’ La Belle.
Je prends le cliché_
*“MABELE YA MBOKA”
*/ Terre de nos ancêtres, traduit du Lingala /
Armure Sculptée en métal et objets recyclés par
Junior Mvunzi Muteba
SERIE : LA VIE EST BELLE, 2020
TECHNIQUE:
photomontage & collage,
impression pigmentaire sur papier baryté
Photos Numérotées [Edition limitée]
ENCADREMENT: ossature bois
