In Conversation with Lorraine Kalassa

Lorraine Kalassa and Julie Bonzon, 21 May 2020 

JB: Could you tell me a bit more about the series ‘Embracing Bikwembe’, your first assignment at the Michaelis School of Fine Art?

LK: The project arose from a personal challenge I had when I was younger. I was uncomfortable with traditional printed outfits because of my school environment. I'm still figuring out my identity and my culture. Originally from the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), I faced hostility towards my cultural heritage in South Africa. To address this, I asked a family friend who is a dressmaker to create some contemporary outfits that suited my style. I didn’t wear them much until this school project, which focused on identity.

JB: The backgrounds in the photographs are quite varied. Where did you take them?

LK: We had limited options for locations because we needed access to the darkrooms on campus. So, I took the photos on campus. I brought a lot of fabrics with me and enlisted some classmates to help hold up the backdrops.

JB: How does creating a pinhole photograph work?

LK: We were given tins to convert into pinhole cameras. First, we painted the tin completely black to make it lightproof, preventing any light from ruining the photographic paper. Then, we poked a tiny hole in one side of the tin to serve as the lens, while the photo paper was placed on the opposite side. I wasn’t satisfied with the curved look from the tin, so I used the lid, which is flatter, to hold the paper. This created the circular form in my photographs. I had to cut the photo paper to fit perfectly into the lid. The resulting images are negatives that are processed in the darkroom to produce positives.

JB: Can you tell me more about the fabric you used?

LK: The outfits are quite symbolic for me. One of the dresses, made by my aunt, is called a ‘Bubu.’ When I was younger, I didn’t appreciate its beauty; it seemed oversized, which is just the style. The women in my family wear them regularly, but due to the hostility and xenophobic attacks in South Africa at the time, my aunt and other women avoided wearing traditional clothes in public out of fear. This affected how I perceived these outfits. The other items, including the shorter dress and pants, were designed by me and made by a dressmaker.

JB: In your artist statement, you emphasize the connection between clothing and speech. Could you explain this?

LK: I was always cautious about the language spoken in public due to the fear of xenophobic treatment. For instance, some foreigners have found themselves in dangerous situations when responding in Xhosa or Zulu, which was supposedly used to distinguish between African foreigners and South Africans. Although I’m unsure how valid this is, I was told it was a tactic to identify foreigners. In ‘Embracing Bikwembe,’ I use clothing to influence my psychological state, employing Bikwembe to connect with and reclaim my Congolese identity despite the complexities of my upbringing in South Africa. Language plays a similar role; I’ve been working on improving my proficiency in French, Lingala, and Swahili. I understand that not speaking my mother tongue fluently doesn’t make me any less Congolese than someone born and raised in the DRC. The project explores these themes.

JB: You also mention two photographers who influenced you, Léonce Raphael Agbodjélou and Seydou Keïta. Could you tell me more about that?

LK: I really admire how they incorporate fabrics into their backgrounds and sets. I adopted a similar approach in my work, using three different types of backgrounds made from fabrics my mum owned that were starting to wear out and lose their sheen.

JB: What I find interesting about your series is that the photographs look carefully composed and choreographed, with deliberate choices in backgrounds, dress, and poses. Yet, your process was quite spontaneous. Did you have a clear idea of how the images would turn out while you were making them?

LK: Not at all (laughs). It was very spontaneous. I didn’t plan much, except for the camera positioning and some lighting tests. I was on a tight schedule, so I had to act quickly (laughs)! Posing took between 30 seconds and a minute per shot. I took all the photos in one day, and the changing weather made things challenging. Clouds would block the sun, requiring me to sit longer to capture enough light. The photos where I’m sitting on the floor with an oversized dress reference traditional poses in photography.

JB: How do you think your practice will evolve in the future?

LK: I’m currently majoring in printmaking and plan to take a class on historical photographic processes in my third year at the Michaelis School of Fine Art. I’d like to explore analogue photography techniques.