Performances

My body, my archive

• “My body, my archive” 2023
• Photo: Sarah Imsand

Profile

• Born 1974 in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Based in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Faustin Linyekula is a choreographer, director, and dancer from the Democratic of the Congo. He apprehends the “body” as a living archive to question the violence of History and its impact on personal and collective memory. His work has been staged around the world, at venues including the Tate Modern, New York Live Arts, New Zealand Festival (Wellington) , Sharjah Biennial, the Metropolitan Museum and the Festival d’Avignon.
Prior to European colonization, the peoples of Congo had their own ways of archiving their life experience through masks, sculptures, songs, and stories. Many of these were destroyed or scattered around the world along with colonial rule. My body, my archive explores the possibilities of people putting together their own archives as opposed to those of the conquerors, by connecting the pieces of their fragmented history and memories. The trumpet of Heru Shabaka-Ra (a member of the Sun Ra Arkestra) awakens the memories etched in the body, and throws into relief the wounds of the past, the weight of history, and signs of the future.

Selected performances

2023

“My body, my archive” (stage version), Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne (Switzerland)

2020

“My body, my archive” (installation with live activation), Tate Modern (London, UK)

2019

“Histoire(s) du théâtre II,” Festival d’Avignon (France)

2019

“Congo,” KVS Theatre (Brussels, Belgium)

2017

“Banataba,” Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, USA)