The Future Behind Us

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The Future Behind Us

The Future Behind Us documents the outcomes of an experiment in collective forms of creation that took place in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 2013. Initiated following an invitation from Kin ArtStudio, a cultural platform created in 2011 by the artist Vitshois Mwilambwe Bondo, the project intended to develop local structures of self-production through the collaborative building of a science fiction film with a group of young Congolese artists.  

The resulting science-fiction pilot tells the story of Zai, a young girl who must save the world in the year 3010 with a product called Perinium. The story deals with the historical, political, economic, and cultural contexts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, implemented in a dystopian world.   

Perinium was initiated by Romeo Gongora and made in collaboration with: Monica Toiliye, Glody Buhendwa, Asaph Kyalondawa, Serge Basila, Erick Okele Baya, Flory Sinanduku, Pagna Bula Bula, Joska Kayembe, Giselle Mayanga, Deogracias Kihalu, Bob Kayambe, Dorcas Kazamwali, Cepha Dunia Kazamwali, Melissa Mwenyemali, Prospero Ndoko, Michel Benito, Asia Nyembo, Serge Basila, Tshisekedi Mutambayi, Isaac Sahani, Diamas Diakota, Moise Kasongo, Ange Swana, Baras Benito, Nabu Zengo, Nelson Makengo, Gloire Ndoko Swana, Bob Mukendi, Michel Ekeba, Daril Miela, Melissa Mwenyemali, and Moise Mulumba. Perinium was produced by Kin ArtStudio (DRC).

Romeo Gongora

Romeo Gongora (Canada/Guatemala) is an internationally active visual artist. He has collaborated with the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal (Canada), Open School East (England), Rencontres de Bamako (Mali), HISK (Belgium), CCA - Lagos (Nigeria), Festival Belluard (Switzerland), Centre of Art Torun (Poland), Centre Makan (Jordan), Despina (Brazil) and Kin ArtStudio (DRC), among others. Gongora has participated in residencies at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten (Netherlands, 2007-08), the Künstlerhaus Bethanien (Germany, 2009), and Acme Studios (England, 2016). In 2009 he published the exhibition catalogue Volkskunsthalle in collaboration with video artist Aernout Mik; Bernhart Schwenk, curator at The Pinakothek in Munich; and Gökce Yurdakul, a sociologist at The Humboldt University of Berlin. In 2016, Gongora was invited to speak at the Media@McGill's international colloquium Aisthesis and the Common: Reconfiguring the Public Sphere, which took place at the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal.