Sammy Baloji

An ethnographic and photographic investigation into the complex meanings of living in Congo's urban worlds today.Focusing upon the ‘urban now’, a moment suspended between lingering precolonial references, the broken dreams of a colonial past, and the not yet realised promises of neoliberal futures, this book provides an ethnographic and photographic investigation of the complex meanings of living – and living together – in Congo’s urban worlds today.The authors, anthropologist Filip De Boeck and photographer Sammy Baloji, take the reader on a tour of specific urban sites in Kinshasa and beyond. In their detailed analysis these sites emerge as suturing points in which the possibilities of collective urban action and dreams of a shared future continue to be explored.Reprint of Suturing the City: Living Together in Congo’s Urban Worlds, Filip De Boeck, Sammy Baloji (Autograph 2016)Look inside and read the preface >

Eddy Kamuanga s large-scale figurative paintings display a wealth of historical understanding in a sophisticated interplay of strikingly coloured forms juxtaposed on grey negative space. Kamuanga s work taps into the rich, yet complex colonial history of the Democratic Republic of Congo, (DRC). His politically nuanced and culturally sensitive work explores the seismic shifts in economic, political and cultural identity in the DRC since colonization. Increasingly globalized in outlook, many in the DRC today are rejecting their ancestral heritage in favour of modernity, a conflict that fuels Kamuanga s work. The DRC is the world s largest exporter of coltan, a mineral critical to the production of computer chips and mobile phones. In all Kamuanga s works, the skin of each figure is embedded with integrated circuits, referring to the harsh conditions experienced by workers who mine coltan by hand. Eddy Kamuanga has been recognized internationally as one of the most interesting, young, contemporary African talents of today and his reputation is fast growing worldwide. His work has been shown across Africa, notably at Zeitz MOCAA, South Africa, and has been included in exhibitions in Europe and the United States, at institutions such as the Fowler Museum, UCLA, Los Angeles, (CA); the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, (NH); the Saatchi Gallery; and the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga is represented by October Gallery, London, UK.

In southern Katanga, one of the richest regions in Africa and which is the economic heart of Congo, cities originated around copper and cobalt mines. The relationship between the mining industry and the population could almost resemble that between parent and child. For the past ten years Sammy Baloji has been capturing the memories, hopes and imaginings of these children of the mines. The historical perspective in the Memoire series boldly invites the oppressed of yesterday to engage in dialogue with the ruins of today. Far from presenting an impasse, it invites us to rethink society, as if to exorcise its demons, allowing the dead to find peace so they haunt us no more. The optimism inherent in this process comes out even more clearly in Kolwezi, which presents the image of a ghost town and workers who try all they can to reclaim their own wealth, their dreams of comfort and most of all their want for dignity.