Julie Djikey: Performance "Ozonisation"

Julie Djikey:"Ozonisation"©Pascal Maitre/Cosmos/National Geographic

Julie Djikey: Performance "Ozonisation"

Photo source: National Geographic © Pascal Maitre/Cosmos/National Geographic

[Français]

Julie Djikey @ blogspot : http://juliedjikey.blogspot.com

Performance" Ozonisation" de Julie Djikey à Bandal : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UINjDcTRb7w 

[English]

Julie Djikey, a multifaceted visual artist, uses the screen culture platforms of social media and new technologies to disseminate her performance art. Born in Congo-Kinshasa, her artistic approach endeavors a systemic reparation of the stereotypes of contemporary Congolese art.

A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa and a member of the collective Kisalu Nkia Mbote, Julie Djikey is inspired by the peregrinations of her immediate environment, which she highlights in her art.

Her life as an artist has made her a careful observer of facts and all the little things that make and unmake the life in her city, the little nothings that construct everyday existence; scenes that are presented in her life motivate her to capture them.

Because her work may be seen anytime and anywhere, it intersects trajectories, surpassing boundaries: geographic, aesthetic and artistic. Most of her artwork revolves around issues related to women, movement, urbanization, issues of modernity and all that relates to the environment. Anything that captivates her gaze, her imaginary, evolves into artistic action. Her present focus is the urban space and breadth of Kinshasa and how it becomes a public image of a city.

In her performance art, Julie Djikey presents her body as an object of representation of contemporary art, which becomes both subject and object of art. While performing within a poetic yet subversive spirit, the challenge of her artistic interventions is to mobilise popular awareness of the major themes of city life. 

The automobile is one of the main subjects of the artistic act. Her work is part of an artistic movement of urban scenography of the big megalopolis in Africa and the world. 

In the performance art work, "Ozonisation" (2013), Julie Djikey, as part of the Kisalu Nkia Mbote collective, performs in the streets of Kinshasa. The theme of the piece is in protest against pollution, global warming and the use of cosmetic products. She transforms her body into a “human car”, applying a mixture of engine oil and ashes from burnt tires, and a bra made from oil filter cans.

(Adapted from Julie Djikey’s artist statement in French by Beti Ellerson)

The filmed performance is without dialogue. Below is a translation from French of the written text at the start of the film:

This performance protests against the deterioration of the ozone layer due to the greenhouse gas emissions, the main chemo-physical element responsible for the overheating of the blue planet, which should always be green, without air pollution, and free of ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

The artist conveys the message of her art by combining the visual: aesthetic, theatric and performative in a very subversive spirit. Performance is also a weapon from the armoury of the scholar artist. Sharpened by a great physical vitality, the work is very powerful, concise, with a sense of unquestionable contempt. The strong artistic interventions of the artist are in line with her belief that the body can be both subject and object of art. Body artist, performer, practitioner of happenings and other site specific events, the artist composes her art with elements of everyday urban life in Kinshasa. Known for her minimalism, through her art she reveals current views, her true language of communication.