Sammy Baloji is a photographer who has been exploring the memory and history of the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2005.
He was born and raised in the contested and mineral-rich Katanga province of the DRC, and his work forms an ongoing research project into the cultural, architectural and industrial heritage of the region, as well as a questioning of the impact of Belgian colonization.
Baloji’s work juxtaposes architecture, industrial ruins, and vast slag heaps with images of the people—workers, villagers, urbanites—to explore identity, social history, and memory. His use of photographic archives allows him to manipulate time and space, comparing ancient colonial narratives with contemporary economic imperialism, while his video works, installations and photographic series highlight how identities are shaped, transformed, perverted and reinvented.
Baloji’s critical view of contemporary societies provides a warning about how cultural clichés continue to shape collective memories, and thus allow social and political power games to continue to dictate human behavior.
