Series description
On the streets of the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, artists raise awareness of the challenges the city is facing. The explosion of this megalopolis and its inhabitants’ increasing needs have led to a massive increase in the import of consumer goods and a significant appetite for single-use plastic, creating environmental havoc.
Poor neighbourhoods suffer the most, and in this increasingly degraded environment a group of artists question the profusion of consumer goods and rubbish by recycling them into costumes. Gathered in a collective, they re-embody their city by creating contemporary myths and performing in the street, condemning societal issues such as a lack of healthcare, pollution, deforestation and overconsumption.
Biography
Colin Delfosse (1981) is a documentary photographer based in Brussels.Graduated in journalism; he turned to documentary photography in 2006. As a freelance photographer, Delfosse keeps a strong focus on personal long-term projects in Central Africa.Winner of several awards, his work has been exhibited in Kinshasa, New York, Paris, Hanover, Lagos, Arles and Lubumbashi as well as in various European festivals.
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Florian Sinanduku posing in his pill costume in Kinshasa’s Selembao district. ‘In Kinshasa, and in the whole country, finding medicine is still a big issue. You never know where it comes from and what it is made of. You can find pills everywhere, but most of them are coming from China, and came here without any control’, says Florian.
© Colin Delfosse, Belgium, Shortlist, Professional competition, Portraiture, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
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Jean Precy Numbi Samba is also known by his artist name, Robot Kimbalambala. He is shown here posing in his costume made of car spare parts. The car market in the capital’s suburbs is mostly made up of highly polluting second- and third-hand vehicles from Europe.
© Colin Delfosse, Belgium, Shortlist, Professional competition, Portraiture, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
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Abdoulaye Kinzonzi Kiakanda posing in his water bag costume in Selembao district, Kinshasa. In Kinshasa and throughout the country, itinerant street vendors sell plastic sachets of drinking water on the arteries of the capital. Once used, these bags are thrown on the ground, causing mountains of waste. Abdoulaye recycled them into a suit.
© Colin Delfosse, Belgium, Shortlist, Professional competition, Portraiture, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
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Nada Thsibwabwa posing in his mobile phone costume in Matonge district, Kinshasa. Around 30 percent of coltan – a key mineral for smartphone production – comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, yet ironically, every new smartphone has to be imported back into the country at a high cost. Kinshasa’s huge population has become a big market for second-hand phones from all over the world; in Matonge district a whole market is dedicated to repairing old phones.
© Colin Delfosse, Belgium, Shortlist, Professional competition, Portraiture, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
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Falonne Mambu posing in her electric wires costume in Limete district, Kinshasa. As a performing artist, she raises issues about social development in her country. The Democratic Republic of Congo is potentially the biggest electricity provider among Africa’s Sub-Saharan countries, but decay and corruption have crippled the national Inga dam, which only works at minimum capacity. Today, just 19 percent of the country’s population has access to electricity.
© Colin Delfosse, Belgium, Shortlist, Professional competition, Portraiture, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
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Hemock Kilomboshi posing in his rubber costume in Matonge district. Kilomboshi performs in Kinshasa’s streets to raise issues about globalisation and economic plunder in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
© Colin Delfosse, Belgium, Shortlist, Professional competition, Portraiture, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS EXHIBITION, 17 APRIL - 4 MAY