Les Zazas

Congolese Independence Day 2021

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

by Annita Kayiba

My creative niche and passion is storytelling through photography. I use my passion through imagery; my love for people, sharing stories to spread light and to impact individuals. Through my photography, I also celebrate blackness. The beauty of all the shades that we as black people come in. Since I was child, my parents have always taught me the importance of knowing and loving my roots. Even though I was born and raised in Belgium (I currently live in Canada), I’ve always felt a connection with my motherland, the Democratic Republic of Congo, thanks to my amazing parents. The cultural values that I grew up with made me who I am today. Tradition is part of my identity.

All this cultural baggage has inspired me to create something. I wanted to do something special to celebrate Congolese culture. So, I put together this project that would portray that through the thing that means the most to me after God, family. I started looking at old pictures of my parents which made my vision clearer. After brainstorming and making my mood board, I assembled Congolese creatives from Canada that I believe have a gift among so many other creatives. With their help, I was able to give birth to “Les Zazas”.

Les Zazas” is short for Zaire (Former name of the Democratic Republic of Congo). The family displayed is composed of parents and three children. For the women of the family, I got inspired by old pictures of my mom and her sisters. I wanted to show the beauty of the conservative fashion that our moms would rock back in the days. As for the men, I got inspired by my dad. My father is someone that eats, breaths and sleeps politics. Specifically Congolese politics! Hence why I attempted to dress them up like Congolese politicians who are a part of Congolese history: Mobutu Sese Seko as the dad and Patrice Lumumba as the son.

I put this project together to honour the motherland, the Democratic Republic of Congo. I wanted to show the world the beauty in our traditions and our cultures. I wanted to do something nostalgic that our parents can look at and maybe laugh and have flashbacks flowing around in their mind.

Although it is centred around Congo, I want people to be able to celebrate their blackness through this project. I want them to be proud of it and to see their ancestry and legacy. These are not just pictures, this is not just a project. This is a legacy piece; this to me is a historical piece.