France • Born in 1969

Homo Detritus

“The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a geological scandal.” The French photographer states his point in no uncertain terms. The DRC – or Congo-Kinshasa – is the second-largest country of the 54 states that make up the African continent and has one of the richest sub-soils in the world, containing gold, coltan, diamonds, cobalt, oil and more. Yet it remains the 8th poorest country on our planet.

In the capital, the shantytowns overflow with every kind of waste: mobile phones, plastic, lids, synthetic foam, tyre tubes, fabrics, electric cables, syringes, cardboard, capsules, car parts, cans and much more besides.

In this series of portraits, Gladieu introduces us to a group of artists founded six years ago by visual artist Eddy Ekete. These painters, singers and musicians have joined forces to expose the tragedy of their everyday lives, the wars that ensue, the exploitation of women and men, and the poverty that deprives them of all dignity.

Using waste as their raw material, they put together outfits and masks inspired by African tradition to condemn the ongoing ecological disaster being inflicted on the DRC. “The group welcomed me for this project,” says the photographer. “I chose to shoot their portraits in the streets of Kinshasa, with settings and characters that form a dialogue.” A clan of Homo Detritus, fantastically grotesque characters who are terribly evocative of a modern affliction: the vanity of excessive consumption.

GARAGE