Sapeurs try to imitate an exclusive lifestyle that they imagine exists in Europe. Although they are often treated as local celebrities, it is in the poorest neighborhoods that they spend their entire lives, and most will probably never visit cities like Paris or Brussels, the capitals of the countries that colonized the two Congos. Rival Sapeur groups compete for attention and visibility on the streets and they often appear at major events and on TV and radio shows.
The project was photographed 2012–2019 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
ABOUT PER-ANDERS PETTERSSON
Per-Anders Pettersson (b. 1967) is a Swedish photographer based in Cape Town, South Africa. During his 35-year career, he has covered a wide range of international news events and worked in over a hundred countries. His pictures have been shown in Sweden as well as internationally and he has won a wide range of prizes in, among others, World Press Photo, NPPA and Unicef Photo of the Year. In 2015, he received the Arbetets museum’s Documentary Photo Award.
Since 2000, Pettersson has focused on African stories and long-term projects in, for example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa. His first book Rainbow Transit , in which he followed the emerging democracy in South Africa for 20 years, was published in 2013. His project African Catwalk, about the African fashion industry, was published in 2016 and shown as an exhibition at the Museum of Labor in 2017.
