Jeanpy Kabongo is a young Congolese filmmaker and photographer, who graduated from the Institut des Beaux-Arts in Kinshasa in 2012. He later completed a dual training in computer science and cinema in India, before returning to the DRC in 2016 to focus audiovisual, photography and cinema.
In his artistic work, Jeanpy Kabongo has combined the chiaroscuro scene technique for photography with Kuba carpets, a textile designed by the Kuba tribe of central DRC, to result in paintings that are one of a kind. His first collection, a dozen photographic works is already ready and he plans others to address other topics on cultural identity.
For the artist, these paintings illustrate the union of a past and a present. They embody a reconciliation of Jeanpy Kabongo with himself, because he was one of those young people of his time who had neglected their culture. It was only after his years of study in India that he rediscovered the connection to its history and cultural heritage, in particular through his research on Kuba textiles.
According to him, the Kuba carpet symbolizes the wisdom and inventiveness of his ancestors, as well as their ability to create quality things from scratch. The ingenuity and intricacy of the design of Kuba rugs, palm leaf fibers woven with geometric patterns executed in linear embroidery, deeply fascinated Jeanpy Kabongo.
The themes covered in his first collection consist mainly of a child’s image that recurs in all his paintings, with a look that does not leave anyone indifferent. He wanted to symbolize “a look that brings us back to ourselves”, to our enlightened or dark mind on what we live every day. The gaze of the child supports our own gaze to encourage us to question ourselves on what really deserves our attention.
In the end, Jeanpy Kabongo’s paintings represent the spirit of a people imprisoned in their minds by darkness and ignorance, but who reconnect to their history and their culture to move forward towards the desired light, towards a life better and more balanced