Présentation
The 12 November 1965, Joseph Désiré Mobutu took power over the Congo on the back of assassinations and post-colonial political chaos. In his 31 years of power he profoundly changed the perception of the country on a national and international level. With the expenditure of billions of dollars, furnished by the mining industry and western banks, he multiplied gargantuan projects and imposed his image as Father of the Nation. Fifty years on, the scars of his reign are still tender in the Congolese memory. To try and show the country’s recent history photographically is, however, extremely difficult since the actual president, the son of the rebel chief who chased Mobutu from power, has taken care to eradicate the stigmata of that period. Nevertheless this far-off era still permeates the consciousness of the inhabitants, and it is in fixing their image that the photographer is able to recount the history of the country.