If successful, I will use the Dover Prize grant to create the next chapter in my practice: “Putulu Payer” – Nzoloko Fashion Show, a hybrid performative installation combining textile sculpture (fashion), light, sound and immersive video. This work will explore the Congolese concept of “Putulu Payer”, a multi-layered expression that evokes admiration, material acquisition, flattery and value. All through the prism of post-colonial aesthetics and personal memory.
This fashion performance will involve models wearing clothes and accessories inspired by both traditional ornamentation and absurdist haute couture, branded with figurative and abstract motifs that I have developed using a technique I call Nzoloko (Lingala for “incision, or scarification”). This process re-imagines ancestral practices of scarification of the body, traditionally therapeutic, identity-related and spiritual, to refer to our modern wounds: displacement, consumerism and the pursuit of identity.
The grant will enable:
– The production of custom garments and accessories reflecting my sculptural approach;
– The construction of a mobile light and sound installation, designed to move with the models and transform the fashion show into a narrative performance;
– The filming and editing of the performance into an immersive video to be screened after the event in a dedicated cube room, accessible in VR format to reach a wider audience;
– Collaboration with local participants and a technical team to produce the fashion show.
This opportunity will be transformative for my practice, allowing me to merge installation, performance and moving images on a new scale, while pushing the boundaries of what a “fashion show” can be. It will also allow me to take the “Nzoloko” technique beyond static forms and turn it into a living, breathing movement that conveys cultural memory through skin, fabric and space.
This project offers a unique opportunity to connect Darlington’s creative scene to global discourses on identity, ornament and the legacy of cultural exchange. By locating “Putulu Payer” in Darlington, whether through performance, exhibition or public engagement, I hope to bring a powerful, poetic and visual narrative that will resonate in people’s minds.
I will actively engage local audiences and young people in conversations and hands-on workshops around history, fashion culture, heritage and art as a storytelling medium. My participatory approach allows people from all backgrounds to contribute creatively, even without any prior artistic training.
In addition, the immersive fashion performance could be hosted in a local venue or public space in Darlington, contributing to its vibrant cultural landscape by offering a unique platform for aesthetics and critical dialogue. The digital component of the project (VR/video installation) ensures its continued accessibility and reach across borders, helping to amplify Darlington’s growing profile as a site for innovative and globally connected contemporary art.
I am a multi-disciplinary artist working in installation, light, sound and participatory practice. My work draws on ancestral Congolese traditions, contemporary urban culture and collective memory, often reflecting on migration, relocation and healing. At the heart of my practice is the concept of Nzoloko, from the Lingala word for “incision or scarification”, a technique I have developed for working on dark surfaces such as tarpaulin, leather or skin-like fabrics. These incisions or hot-iron markings are symbolic wounds, imbued with light and sound, that speak of the pursuit, the quest for happiness, identity or home, and the trauma that often accompanies it. I allow non-artists to participate in the creation of my installations, using workshops and community engagement as integral elements of the work. In October 2024, I led a co-creation workshop at the National Museum of Liverpool, which resulted in a sculptural installation presented on 3 May 2025 at Tate Liverpool during “The Plant That Stowed Away” celebration. I create spaces and moments where ancestral memory and contemporary realities converge, each project acting as a form of diagnosis and proposed remedy for the therapy of the broken systems we inhabit.
Yes, I am a graduate in visual arts from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa, one of the most prestigious art institutions in the heart of Africa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. My academic background has laid the foundations for my conceptual and material exploration through media, particularly in terms of understanding the intersections between traditional African art, contemporary practices and social engagement.
Yes, I received a Culture and Inclusion grant from the Government of Quebec in 2022 to develop a project inspired by migratory experiences that also involved community participation in the creation of one of the works that participated in my solo exhibition in the city of Levis, Quebec.
In 2019, I received a mobility grant from the Prince Claus Fund (Amsterdam) which allowed me to travel to the United States for an artistic residency with over 30 artists from around the world. This greatly enriched my practice and visibility.
These two grants not only supported the realisation of impactful projects, but also enabled me to strengthen my international network, further developing the collaborative and intercultural dimensions of my work.
Yes, I run my own studio and I frequently launch and respond to invitations for collaborative projects that involve non-artists in the creative process. For example, with the support of the city of Levis in Quebec in 2021 I led a community co-creation process to develop an ephemeral public artwork. In 2022, I led a community co-creation process to develop an installation artwork.
More recently, in October 2024, I collaborated with Tate Liverpool and the International Slavery Museum on the “Putulu Payer” project, facilitating workshops with local communities to create visual elements which were then exhibited. Reinforcing my approach of making space for others in my artistic process.
Yes, my work has been covered in various arts publications and media.
Most notably :
– Art Africa Magazine: Featured in “Spotlight on the Art of Darkness”
– Le Soleil (Québec): “Nkembo Moswala: faire pousser l’espoir”
– ICI Radio-Canada: Featured in a documentary video on public art in Québec and Lévis
– Journal de Lévis: Covered my Québec-based project
These highlight both the conceptual depth and the communal nature of my practice, demonstrating its emotional, cultural and social impact.
Yes. In 2019 I participated in two international artist residencies:
– Art OMI ( Ghent, New York, USA – June to July 2019) : A highly regarded art residency that allowed me to develop new work while engaging with a global cohort of artists.
– AADK Spain, Centro Negra (Blanca, Murcia, Spain – February 2019): The very first one that allowed me to be outside my usual context for the first time.
These two residencies were decisive in refining my conceptual approach and expanding my international network.
Email: info@nkembomoswala.com
Address: 31 Carroll Close, Newpoer Pagnell, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK168QJ, GB
Local Authority: Milton Keynes City Council
