Winter gallery hours:

• Wed 11 Dec 2024: CLOSED
• Sat 14 Dec 2024: open 11am – 3pm
• Wed 18 Dec 2024: open 11am – 5pm
• Sat 20 Dec 2024 – 1 Jan 2025: GALLERY CLOSED 
• Sat 4 Jan 2025: Gallery open as usual 11am – 3pm

DOWNLOAD THE TEACHER RESOURCES PACK HERE

“Painting is about connecting with your memory, it’s about getting joy.”

When artist Djofray Makumbu discovered his family’s old photo albums he was instantly transported back to a time when his parents, their friends and family would gather in each other’s homes in East London to chat and dance, to engage in fierce debates, share food and enjoy life. This was the 1980s and 90s, a time before smartphones and social media and instant messaging, when moments were freeze-framed by the click of a camera’s shutter. Back then, photographs were treasured; film and processing were expensive. When you took a photo, you had to think a bit more carefully about its composition, and you never really knew how it was going to turn out. The best ones were carefully mounted in albums to be poured over again and again. It was this process that sparked something in Djofray. “I suddenly realised that these photographs looked like paintings,” he says. 

Djofray has captured the essence of this era in a series of portraits of family and friends taken from these photo albums. His paintings convey the energy and joy of a community coming together through a shared language and culture.

“The photos were mostly taken by my father, and they sparked all these memories,” he explains. “It was like I jumped back to a time when my parents were so young and in the moment; you forget that your parents had a life! It was magical. It was clear from the photographs that the community bond was so strong – and it still is. My parents are still in touch with these people. You can’t recreate that bond – it’s just beautiful.”

These paintings mark a turning point in Djofray’s work, which previously tackled darker themes including police harassment and mental health. Showing alongside the paintings in this exhibition is Djofray’s stop-motion animation film Hello Mr Officer, which navigates the everyday experiences of young black men from across London who are frequently stopped, searched, and harassed by the police. And Cover, a film that shares the experiences of Djofray, his friends and a group of young people with disabilities from Eastbury Community School in Barking. These films are painstakingly created frame by frame over several months, a process that Djofray admits is “long and draining”. In contrast, Djofray found a freedom and an immediacy with his paintings. “When I started painting it made me so happy, it’s like it put me in a trance. I put my music on and just paint! I can’t stop painting because it makes me happy.”

If your parents and grandparents provide the link to your community, what happens when that older generation is gone? The artist admits this scares him. In recreating his family’s photographs as paintings, Djofray is conscious of wanting to create a living archive, trying to catch hold of a narrative that is fast disappearing, and preserve a moment in time for future generations. “You try your best to keep that bond together.” 

—

Djofray Makumbu is a British Congolese artist currently studying at the Royal Academy Schools, where he continues to explore the intersections of personal and collective experiences. Based in East London, his work frequently reflects on themes such as the stigma surrounding mental health, the challenges faced by young people, and the role of music and dance in cultural expression.

A graduate of Goldsmiths, University of London, with a BA in Fine Art in 2018, Djofray was recognised for his exceptional degree show with the Alumno/SPACE Studio Bursary. Collaboration is central to his practice, often involving friends and family in his projects, and he primarily works in moving-image, using techniques like stop-motion animation, video footage, and hand-drawn elements. From building sets to stitching garments for claymation characters, every detail of his work is handcrafted. His brother also plays an integral role, creating soundtracks that enhance the immersive quality of each piece.

In 2020, Djofray was commissioned by the Goldsmiths Exhibitions Hub to create Hello Mr Officer, a moving image piece that presents the voices of young Black men sharing their experiences of police harassment. The work, which incorporates stop-motion, watercolour, and rotoscope techniques, was exhibited at the South London Gallery in 2021. It also draws on archival footage from The People’s Account (1987) by Ceddo Film Collective, sourced from the London Community Video Archive.

In 2021 he was awarded the LOEWE FOUNDATION/Studio Voltaire Award and a digital residency with the Yinka Shonibare Foundation at Guest Projects. His ongoing exploration of social narratives and collaborative approaches positions him as a unique and impactful voice in contemporary British art.

—

Thank you to

Royal Academy of Arts – Geraldine Vaughan, Gwendolen Jones, Gular Artes, James Irwin
Bolanle Contemporary – Bolanle Tajudeen, Loon Lake Workshop – Ellis James Lee, Scenografika – Erik Rehl
Alex Arden, David Mirzoeff, Dhairya Patel, Mel Lou 

Graphic Design – Julie Adams