Nketu - Tungu

Photography series2018The photographic work results from a performance carried out.

Nketu-Tunga (‘Power Woman’), 2018. This series of seven monochrome photographs documents a public performance in Lubumbashi, centered on the KITELEMISA—a traditional Kiyombé braid.

The Kitelemisa braid (antenna in Kikongo), is measuring 66 cm in height and 10 cm in circumference at its base. Worn in an exaggerated, vertical form, the braid acted as a literal "antenna" as the artist walked through the urban landscape. At the end of this daily performance, she is photographed, giving rise to this series of works.

While never intended as a spectacle, the work sparked a dialogue so potent it drew massive crowds and police scrutiny, testing the boundaries of public order. To preserve the raw, living energy of that encounter, the prints are installed using a unique side-hinge system. By eschewing traditional back-mounts, the works remain untethered from the wall; they can be articulated at various angles, echoing the constant movement and duende of the original performance.

Exhibition:
CC Stombeek