Mémoire
In southern Katanga, one of the richest regions in Africa and which is the economic heart of Congo, cities originated around copper and cobalt mines.
In Mémoire, past and present collide. Baloji juxtaposes color photographs of today’s bleak, industrial landscapes with historical images drawn from the archives of the local mining company, which memorialize African and European colonial actors, who toiled for and benefited from the mine. While the resulting images are indictments of the lasting legacies—social, political, environmental—of colonialism, they also recall the economic benefits made by the mines and their ruin after independence. The historical perspective in the Mémoire series boldly invites the oppressed of yesterday to engage in dialogue with the ruins of today.