SUNU Conversation With: Sarah Stacke
Amy Sall speaks with photographer and photo curator, Sarah Stacke, about Congolese vernacular photography and her project: the D.R.C. Archive Project
African vernacular photography and studio portraiture are important artifacts that carry within them ideas of self-fashioning, self-idealization, and memory-making. They are objects — souvenirs — that serve as cultural and temporal markers. They are personal time-stamps of moments of one’s life, and snapshots that can reflect a collective, burgeoning, post-independence optimism. With photographers from the continent such as Malick Sidibe and Seydou Keita commonly cited and increasingly exhibited globally – displaced from archive to institution -- the interest in African vernacular photography and studio portraiture continues to grow and become cornerstones of contemporary African visual discourse. Photographer and curator, Sarah Stacke, spent time researching and tracing visual histories in the Democratic Republic of Congo, delving into the works of photographers (many of whom are inconnue) who contributed to the country’s vast archive of contemporary Congolese photography. The D.R.C. Archive Project is a culmination of Sarah’s research, the conversations had with families who own the photo albums from which many of the photos were found, and the desire to make available a resource and contemporary Congolese visual historiography that eschews any negative sentiments about the region perpetuated in media and public discourse. The photographs, largely from the 1970s and 1980s, depict subtle expressions of tenderness, assertiveness, sartorial prowess, and bonds of kinship. In our conversation, Sarah explains the genesis of the D.R.C. Archive Project, her curatorial practice, and the future of the project.
AS: What compelled you to take on this project and why did you choose the Democratic Republic of Congo as the site for this project?
SS: A few months before beginning the D.R.C. Archive Project I learned of Alice Seeley Harris and the powerful early twentieth-century photographs she made in the Belgian Congo. Harris and her husband, Reverend John Harris, traveled to Congo in 1898 as British missionaries with the Congo Balolo Mission, a Baptist missionary society. Using a Kodak dry plate camera, Harris exposed hundreds of glass plate negatives, many of which documented atrocities perpetuated by Belgian King Léopold II’s administration. Her photographs, shown widely in Europe and the United States, were a primary component of the Congo Reform Association’s (CRA) campaign to end the human rights abuses occurring in Léopold’s Congo. As author Sharon Sliwinski points out, “The CRA was not only the largest humanitarian movement of the era, it was also the first humanitarian movement to use atrocity photographs as a central tool.”
This introduction to Harris and her generally unacknowledged yet hugely significant role in the history of photography surprised and intrigued me. Documentary photography and Sub-Saharan Africa are the interests that have directed a substantial portion of my pursuits and decisions. If Harris had eluded me, what other photographic treasures were hiding in Congo? What photographs emerged from Congo after Harris’s time and for what purpose? Who are the Congolese photographers working in Congo today? These are the questions that propelled me to travel to D.R.C. and examine photography there more closely.
Emmanuel Nshindi and Nicole Nshindi on their wedding day. From a Nshindi family photo album. Photographer unknown. Kinshasa, D.R.C., c. 1975.
Courtesy of Sarah Stacke
Before marriage. Quintin Katembera and Janette Katembera. From a Katembera family photo album. Photographer unknown. Bukavu, D.R.C., September 1978.
Courtesy of Sarah Stacke
AS: How did you begin collecting and curating these images that have culminated into the D.R.C. Archive Project?
SS: When I arrived in Kinshasa I worked with a guide and a driver to locate historical and contemporary photo studios and photographers. We started with a small list of names and studios I had read about in Photographies Kinshasa, a book published by Revue Noir. It was a treasure hunt, for sure. Addresses and street names can be hard to come by in Kinshasa, especially if the last known address was 4 decades ago. But, one studio led to another and one photographer led to another. When I started collecting images from family albums it was the same; one family led to another.
AS: Can you talk about the methodology behind the D.R.C. Archive Project? What was the process between coming across these photographs to curation, and what were the challenges that arose, if any?
SS: I work in the regions of Kinshasa and Bas Congo and I make digital scans of images from historic and contemporary photo studios and family photo albums.
At the beginning the main challenge was finding the photographers and the work. Once I found studio collections or family photo albums I wanted to include in the project, I spent hours scanning the images at the home or studio where the collection lived. This was often my favorite part of the project because it provided time to get to know the individuals and families.
It's extremely important to me that the images stay with the studio or family, which is why I make scans rather than collect the physical images. This has presented challenges when I've looked for an institution to partner with, for example a university archive, because many archives are still focused on the value of the physical object.
AS: From what I understand, central to the D.R.C. Archive Project is its aim to challenge the stereotypical and perpetuated narratives that surround the DRC, as it is often toted as a conflict-shrouded country. In what ways do these photos help or contribute to the collective understanding of the DRC?'
SS: The D.R.C. Archive Project was established in an effort to preserve, expose, and make accessible the work of Congolese photographers. I'd like it to become a rich photographic resource for individuals residing in D.R.C., United States, and beyond.
The development of the project has been motivated by the belief that the images will help viewers define the country in terms other than victimization, conflict and dependency. There are other projects, websites, instagram accounts, books, etc. that have a similar goal, which is wonderful –– I hope their numbers continue to grow. Yet for much of the world, colonization, missionary work, and civil war are the sum of D.R.C.'s history. No nation should be solely defined by its conflicts. The D.R.C. Archive Project celebrates the cultural riches of D.R.C. and subverts the tale of victimization.
There are many ways to engage with photographs and the world. I often think about concepts of absence, memory, and imagination when I look at photographs. This way the details of the photograph become windows to reflect upon a world beyond the photograph. I don't know if the images in the D.R.C. Archive Project contribute to a collective understanding of D.R.C., but I hope they demonstrate complexity, nuance, and reveal a glimpse of the millions of stories to be told.
Left: A Client. Photograph by Lema Mpeve Mervil of Studio Photo Less. Kinshasa, D.R.C., c. 1980. Right: Self-portrait. Photograph by Lema Mpeve Mervil of Studio Photo Less. Kinshasa, D.R.C., c. 1975. Courtesy of Sarah Stacke
AS: Conversation that surrounds photography in Africa often hinge on the idea of "othering," yet it is clear that the photos included in your project were taken through an African lens. How do you feel this project communicates ideas of autonomy, self-determination, and identity?
SS: The D.R.C. Archive Project primarily consists of portraiture because of its implied collaboration and its attention to the agency of photographers and clients who use imagery to explore and express individuality and beauty. As with my other archive projects, my goal is not to treat the images like pieces of evidence and place them into a perceived history of D.R.C., but to examine what is revealed and suggested through the details in the images as means to better understand the dynamics of the larger cultural and political context.
Photo studios are enclaves in which photographers collaborate with clients to visually construct social ideals and aspirations. The images chosen to populate family photo albums explore and express self-determined social identities and cultural values. They also shape the identities of future generations. In short, the families and studio clients are styling themselves how they like to be seen and how they see themselves.
Photograph by Lema Mpeve Mervil of Studio Photo Less. Kinshasa, D.R.C., c. 1980. Courtesy of Sarah Stacke
AS: In the array of photographs, there are many taken by studio photographers whose names we unfortunately do not know, and whose work could, perhaps, be compared to their more well-known peers. However among the unknown photographers, there is Lema Mpeve Mervil. What can you tell us about Mervil and why do you think his work has not reached the same levels of recognition as some of the other photographers engaged in a similar practice?
SS: There was a tiny blurb about Lema Mpeve Mervil and his father, who was also a photographer, in Photographies Kinshasa. Finding Monsieur Lema was a top priority when I first traveled to Kinshasa. After running into many literal and figurative dead ends we finally found Monsieur Lema's home, which used to double as his studio. The simple answer to why his work has not reached the same heights as Sidibé or Keita is that it hasn't been seen. For complex reasons that I don't think can be boiled down to the history of conflict, D.R.C. hasn't been a destination for photo collecting and Congolese photography hasn't been recognized at the same level as photography from West Africa.
AS: What has been the response from the families these photos have come from?
SS: The families and photographers have been happy to participate.
Biwa Muya. From a Muya family photo album. Photographer unknown. Kinshasa, D.R.C., c. 2010.
AS: What do you hope the legacy of the D.R.C Archive Project will be?
SS: I hope one –– or five! –– of the photographers featured in the project will have their place in the history of photography recognized at the level of Sidibé or Keita. I also hope the project will contribute to a deeper look into the history and contemporary practice and role of Congolese photography.
Gallery of images from left to right: 1) Biwa Muya and friends. From a Muya family photo album. Photographer unknown. Kinshasa, D.R.C., c. 2005 | 2) Jules Muya. From a Muya family photo album. Photographer unknown. Kinshasa, D.R.C., c. 2010. | 3) Lema Mpveve Mervil and a friend in front of Studio Photo Less. Kinshasa, D.R.C., c. 1970 | 4) Lema and friend. Photograph by Lema Mpeve Mervil of Studio Photo Less. Kinshasa, D.R.C., c. 1975 | 5) Lema and friend. Photograph by Lema Mpeve Mervil of Studio Photo Less. Kinshasa, D.R.C., c. 1975 | 6) From a Nshindi family photo album. Photographer unknown. Kinshasa, D.R.C., c. 1990 | 7) From a Nshindi family photo album. Photographer unknown. Kinshasa, D.R.C., c. 1975. All images courtesy of Sarah Stacke
May 2020. Vol nº1