While initially trained in painting, Kiripi Katembo began working across the media of photography, video and film early in his artistic career. Evincing a strong poetic and aesthetic sensibility, his work blurs the boundaries between the formalities of painting and photography. Katembo’s mirroring technique, best visualised in his photographic series Un regard (2008-2009), captures vignettes of Kinshasa’s streets in the reflections of puddles. His photographs and short films address the economic and political realities of the capital, yet produce moments of intense serenity.
Katembo’s work was featured in Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko, Fondation Cartier pour l’art Contemporain, Paris (2015), Kiripi Katembo Siku: Mutation, Galleri Flach, Stockolm (2014) and the 4th International Festival of Photography, BOZAR, Brussels (2012).