Emmanuel Botalatala
B. 1951 (Congo)
Emmanuel Botalatala is a former teacher and bank-clerk, whose arresting assemblages and three-dimensional reliefs speak of the complex politics and cultural life within the Democratic Republic of Congo. Working predominantly with recycled materials, the artist considers his role akin to that of an educator and activist, and intends to build a cultural centre in Kinshasa to house his lifetime oeuvre. Botalatala was profiled in the film Le Ministre des Poubelles (2019) by Quentin Noirfalisse.