On World Art Day we visited Billy Gibula in his studio in Masina, on the eastern edge of Kinshasa. Gibula paints masked figures and birds in bright color against dark grounds, in a space he set up after leaving his mentor’s atelier. We asked him about his beginnings, about what the masks and birds mean, and about the circle that keeps young painters in Kinshasa unseen.
kitokongo: Thank you for welcoming us into your studio. Can you start by introducing yourself?
Billy: I am Billy Gibula, a painter born in Kinshasa in 1995. I have drawn since childhood, on any paper I could find. At eleven I started painting on the walls of commercial buildings and copying famous posters and comics. That work taught me how colors behave together. Later I began to frequent the painter Jean Claude Lofenia, who became my mentor. After years of practice under maître Lofenia I found the techniques, colors, and compositions that felt like mine, and I kept working on them until a painting of mine could be recognized at a glance.
kitokongo: How did you meet your mentor?
Billy: On the street, actually. I was sitting and drawing a monkey dressed as a sapeur, and this famous Kinshasa painter stopped to watch me work. When I finished the drawing he invited me to his studio. That was around 2011, if I’m not mistaken.
kitokongo: Where does this passion for drawing come from? You were eleven.
Billy: Drawing has always been a joy for me. As a kid I found happiness in it. But at that age I didn’t dream of being an artist. I dreamed of being a basketball player. [laughs]
kitokongo: From basketball player to painter. Who pushed you toward painting?
Billy: The fun I had drawing was greater than the fun I had playing basketball. I was also lucky to meet established artists who encouraged me to keep going. Sometimes a small compliment on a drawing was enough to make me want to be an artist again.
Sometimes a small compliment on a drawing was enough to make me want to be an artist again.
kitokongo: Let’s talk about the work itself. What inspires you? How do you choose your subjects?
Billy: Nature inspires me a lot. And masks. I like masks very much. Their stories, their culture, their beauty fascinate and intrigue me at the same time. That is why I bring the mask into my work, and also to speak to my audience. In Congo we have known many conflicts and tribal wars, and unfortunately this continues. So I mix elements from different peoples in one painting. In this one you have Kuba motifs in the background and a Pende mask. When the painting holds together, it makes its point: we can do great things when we work together. It is a message of peace. In the end we are not so different.
kitokongo: How did your style change over time?
Billy: A lot. In the beginning my master’s teaching shaped everything. I was learning the basics, getting a grip on technique. Later I started experimenting, studying other artists, taking inspiration wherever I found it. Then I met art critics who pushed me further. They told me there were already artists working in my mentor’s manner, and that finding my own identity would be hard but necessary if I wanted to express myself. So I left my master’s studio and set up my own. That gave me room to experiment. The subjects stayed familiar, but I brought them to life with colors of my own, and that is when my work started to stand out.
Billy picked up one of his paintings and explained the lines and colors inside the figure.
Billy: I painted the background black to hold that feeling of despair. But I also wanted to show the hope that is always inside us, fighting to get out. That is what the dynamic lines inside her are for. Sometimes they go beyond her body. There are hidden messages too, like the word kimia, peace in Lingala. The painting is about the constant struggle between despair and hope. That struggle is what I try to bring to life in every piece.
kitokongo: Alongside these figures there are always birds. Parrots, roosters, others. What do they mean?
Billy: Birds are a sign of waking up. A happy waking, no matter how the night was. Look at this painting. The theme is waking up. The character is sick. The mask you see represents the illness; it is a Pende mask. At night, when you are sick, there is no way to move or get up. But in the day, when there is light, you have to get up and do what you can to get better. The bird is the symbol of that waking. This is actually my favorite of my own works.
Before the last questions we asked Billy to show us how he works. He set up a new canvas, and his expression changed the moment the brush touched the surface.
Birds are a sign of waking up. A happy waking, no matter how the night was.
kitokongo: As an artist in DR Congo, what is missing from the art scene?
Billy: Visibility. Gallery owners prefer to work with established artists, the ones who already have a reputation. Emerging artists get no chance at exposure. Visibility decides an artist’s success, so we are caught in a circle. If you are not known you get no visibility, and without visibility you cannot become known.
If you are not known you get no visibility, and without visibility you cannot become known.
kitokongo: That circle is part of why Kitokongo exists. We want to give space to artists who do not yet have the connections to be seen elsewhere.
How do you see your role as an artist in Congolese society today?
Billy: I always come back to hope and love. I believe art can give hope, because the future holds more than we think. Artists face real difficulties, but there are also surprises. You should wake up every day with hope for a better day, no matter how the night was. You never know. Maybe someone encourages you with a kind word. Maybe someone buys a painting. Many of my characters are artists themselves. In this picture the bird holds a paintbrush in its beak. These are self-portraits.
kitokongo: I didn’t know that. Many things make sense now. When you spoke of the daily struggle earlier, you were speaking of yourself.
Billy: Of myself and my fellow artists. Being an artist is not easy, especially without opportunities to show what you can do. And beyond that, my art carries a message of peace and tolerance, because of the tribal conflicts we live with in Congo.
kitokongo: Any advice for young artists starting out?
Billy: Young artists often rush. They want to finish quickly and show the work to everyone. My advice is to slow down and give each painting the effort it deserves. A painting is never really finished; there is always something to add. Take your time and pay attention to the details.
kitokongo: Thank you, Billy, for your time and for opening your studio to us.
Billy Gibula lives and works in Masina, Kinshasa.
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