Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga (born 1991) is a contemporary painter from the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

whose

Afrofuturism Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, and philosophy of science and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technocu ...

works"Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga" by Billie A. McTernan, ''Art Africa''; December 2016, Issue 6, pages 160–162. have been exhibited across Africa and in Europe and the United States.40 Under 40 Africa Artists: Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga
" ''Apollo: The International Art Magazine'', September 28, 2020.

Life

Kamuanga Ilunga was born in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

as the second of seven kids, including five sisters.Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga: understanding the present through the past
by

Maya Jaggi Maya Jaggi is a British writer, literary critic , editor and cultural journalist.Maya Jaggi profi ...

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

. May 11, 2018. His father had studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and was a teacher at a Salvation Army university while his mother sold second-hand shoes at a market. His mother was the family's primary financial support. While growing up, Kamuanga Ilunga focused on technologies such as television, radio, the internet and video games. However, he was also surrounded by the fabrics, jewelry, and fashion accessories of his sisters. When he later became an artist all of these elements found their way into his paintings. When Kamuanga Ilunga was six years old he saw people painting at a studio in front of his school. He started recreating comics, posters, and music album covers. By the time he was ten to twelve years old he was receiving commissions from small advertising companies and shops."Anatsui, Ilunga outshine global stars" by Beverly Andrews,

New African ''New African'' is an English-language monthly news magazine based in London. Published since 1966, it is read by many people across the African continent and the African diaspora. It claims to be the oldest pan-African monthly in English, as well ...

. March 2018, Issue 581, pages 66–68. He currently divides his time between living in Kinshasa, where he has a studio, and Brussels.

Career

Kamuanga Ilunga studied at the

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

in Kinshasa, but became disillusioned and left the school after a short time to help form the M’Pongo art group. His singular style of displaying painted humans with computer circuitry originated when he was 20 and broke his mobile phone. "Looking in my iPhone," he said, "I became fascinated. I found out that these circuit boards are made of minerals found in Congo." He was also shocked that many villages in the Congo are destroyed for the minerals used to create electronics in use across the planet. His paintings have exhibited in Africa, Europe and the United States of America, including at the

Fowler Museum at UCLA The Fowler Museum at UCLA, commonly known as The Fowler, and formerly Museum of Cultural History and Fowler Museum of Cultural History, is a museum on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) which explores art and material ...

, the

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local ...

, and the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

in London (with one of his paintings being the last exhibition's symbolic image). His first London appearance was in 2015 during the

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the D ...

's Pangaea II show and the 1-54 contemporary African art fair. In 2016 his work was featured in a solo show at the

October Gallery The October Gallery is an art gallery in central London, established in 1979.October Gallery Armory Show The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...

art fair. In 2017 his painting "Elongated Head" sold for £11,250 and in 2018 "Mangbetu" sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

for £65,000. Among Ilunga's influences is the Congolese modernist artist Kamba Luesa. He was also mentored by Vitshois Mwilambwe Bondo.

Style and technique

Kamuanga Ilunga's

paintings depict the class of culture and technology and are created in acrylic and oil on canvas from posed photographs of live models. One major focus of his work is the coltan industry in his home country and "the contrast between the rare metallic ore's role as a vital component in the infrastructure of our digital age and the legions of underpaid workers who dig it out of the earth by hand."How Artist Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga Connects the Past and the Present
by Amy Crawford,

Smithsonian Magazine ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' maga ...

, October 2022. The figures in his paintings allude to European portraiture, dystopian science fiction and traditional Congolese sculpture and textiles, allowing him to "tattoo the badges of contemporary technology into the skin of those who procure these materials for others' profit." The cotton people in his paintings wear alludes to plantations and textile mills created when Congo was a Belgian colony in the 1920s and 1930s, along with today's sweatshop labor and

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

. According to ''Apollo: The International Magazine of Art'', Kamuanga Ilunga's paintings reflect "the creative energy and contradictions of life in contemporary Kinshasa. Striking classical poses and draped in sumptuously rendered fabrics, the figures in his paintings are frequently depicted alongside ritual objects that have fallen out of use, while their skin is adorned with patterns reminiscent of computer chips – a reference to coltan, the raw material exported in vast quantities from the DRC for use in modern technologies worldwide."

described his work as futuristic and seeming to "positively embrace technology, while also seeking to encompass its traditional roots." As Kamuanga Ilunga has said of his paintings, "Understanding the present through the past is central to my work."

Monographs

* ''Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga'' by Sammy Baloji, Sandrine Colard, Gerard Houghton, and Gabriela Salgado, foreword by Gus Casely-Hayford, Rizzoli, October 2022.
Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga
' by Sammy Baloji, Sandrine Colard, Gerard Houghton, and Gabriela Salgado, foreword by Gus Casely-Hayford, Rizzoli, New York, October 2022.

References

External links

October Gallery's art and bio for Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamuanga Ilunga, Eddy 1991 births 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo painters People from Kinshasa 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people Afrofuturism Living people