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BODI SAMBA, was born on 8 May 1995 in Congo. He is a multidisciplinary artist based in Europe. His work focuses on identity and the exploration of multiple artistic entities. Considering identity as art, Bodi Samba specializes in the artistic field as: Director, Photographer, Painter, Creative Director, Art Director, Visionary not to mention others … bringing to the fore an immersive and new world not seen until now. Bodi Samba is originally from a small Congolese commune in Kinshasa where he spent most of his childhood. Since his childhood, Bodi has always had a special relationship with the art world, from Africa to Europe.
Hi Bodi, it’s a pleasure to sit down with you! First question that I always ask. How does a regular day look like for you in Paris?
When I’m in Paris, I like to go to exhibitions, discover new emerging artists and drop into my creative friends’ studios in the 13 arrondissement. When I’m there, I usually stay a long time …
Sometimes I go for a walk, or just relax in a café and enjoy the city! Sometimes it’s also a day of shooting to manage, depending on how the day starts!
I’m curious. Growing up in Kinshasa, what kind of kid were you? What did you enjoy doing, and how did you spend your time?
Bodi: When I was a child, I was too observant, too curious, I liked to ask too many questions, I was too active! My childhood friend and I loved drawing, taking magazines and redrawing what was on them, and that’s how I discovered art.
That’s where it all started. I really enjoyed doing it and spent the day drawing! I remember I even started to get interested in architecture, doing perspective drawings! I was just a curious little boy.
Arriving in France, what was that transition like for you?
Bodi: The transition when I arrived in France was very difficult, to be honest … I had to overcome a lot of situations that toughened me up because thanks to that I became the man I am today.
For me it was like starting a new life with a new way of living … it took me a while to find the balance but today I’m happy to be where I am!
Has your Congolese background influenced your artistic vision in any way?
Bodi: Oh yes, of course, without Africa, without the Congo, I don’t think I would have been able to develop this artistic sensibility, the Congo has shaped me.
Today, I’m grateful to the universe for having put me through all these situations that have enabled me to develop and leave my mark artistically.
So how did you get introduced to photography? What was the early days like? How did you first start out practicing with your camera? And when did your journey start for real?
Bodi: I first became interested in photography when I was in the Congo. One of my cousins introduced me to the photographic work of Gordons Parks, and I remember being particularly taken by the black and white photography.
After that, I absolutely wanted to do photography, but I started in earnest in France at the age of 19, but I was still shy about what I was doing and, at the time, few people knew I was practicing!
When I bought my first Canon, I remember I was like a little kid and I loved shooting landscapes. But I had a bit of trouble with the camera because I hadn’t mastered it yet… it took me a while to find my way…
But I practised a lot, I learned a lot and I read a lot. Everything really started in earnest for me in 2020, when I began to develop my style and to take an interest in analog photography in particular.
How important is authenticity in your work? And can a picture still be good, if it does’t have any?
Bodi: For me, there’s no better way to be authentic than to be yourself. Being yourself is really important for me, and what I’m developing artistically is based on identity development (deconstructing what you are to rebuild the new you), which is part of the process.
The more you are yourself, the more authentic you are, because for me being authentic means being unique. I don’t even think about that because for me my work is authentic. Because I don’t represent anything other than myself. I live, I create, I decide, according to my perception. For me, it’s a way of being real. To be authentic is to be free.
I love the question! In my head, I don’t take photos, I tell stories. Photography for me is a way of conveying all that and I work on the principle that any artistic format you can use to tell a profound story, however it’s presented, if it has what the artist wants to represent, it’s authentic.
For me everything is good in art nothing is bad sometimes something that we consider inauthentic can be authentic.
What makes photography your preferred medium of expressing yourself?
Bodi: Photography gives me the impression of having unlimited space. It’s as if I had an empty space and I had to decorate it as I pleased!
A painting canvas, I love that space of freedom, that moment when you’re simply connected to yourself. The moment when you try to bring to life something you’ve captured. The moment you exist through something.
You and your work have been featured in some big name magazines, such as Vogue, Numéro and Sleek Magazine. What is that experience like? Seeing yourself and your work in such renowned publications?
Bodi: Honestly, it’s fantastic! Especially when you think about how you started out and how you developed and improved. I’m really happy with what I’m doing now artistically and I hope to do even more.
Finally, this collaboration has been a really good experience for me, it’s allowed me to present my work in a different light and I’ll always be grateful for that !
Ok, so besides being a professional photographer, you’re also a creative director, stylist and a painter. Tell me about those fields. How did you get introduced to them?
Bodi: I think that when you practice or are interested in an artistic format, it always opens the door to others. It also depends on how you see yourself and how you define yourself. I’ve always been curious, open-minded, determined and free, and I’ve always thought I could do anything.
I just wanted to have lots of opportunities to express myself in different ways, and I did, and I think today I can do even more, because I think it all depends on how you see yourself as an artist.
If you see yourself as small, you’ll be small. If you see yourself as big and capable of anything, you will be. It all depends on you. Practicing each format has opened the door to others.
For me, art is like an identity, it’s an infinite space where you can do whatever you want, it all depends on you and your perception. Artistic formats such as styling, photography and creative direction come from our imagination. The core of our creative instinct allows us to use these tools, but without them, we can continue to create because they are not our foundation.
All this to say that introducing these tools is not that complicated! Because if you don’t take that as the basis of your creation, you can do anything. That’s why I’ve always considered myself a visionary, because I don’t define myself as a photographer or any other.
So what is it about painting that makes it one of your preferred mediums of expressing yourself?
Bodi: What I love about painting is the effect of showing the moment of well-being in my life when I can blossom, and the moment of tension that I can overcome.
This process allows me to shape my identity, to give free rein to my imagination! It’s another form of freedom!
With that in mind. Photography, painting, creative direction and style. What is art to you Bodi?
Bodi: For me, art and creation are a way of expressing myself, a real therapy, something that has helped me to overcome a number of traumas to date. An approach that has enabled me to free myself and discover the person I really am.
That’s how I came up with the idea of creating my own artistic identity, a concept I put in place to give myself more freedom in my creative process. For me, an identity has no beginning and no end. I see art in the same way, as a never-ending exploration.
Can you walk me through your creative process from beginning to end result?
Bodi: As far as photography is concerned, my creative process is linked to many things! My inspirations, films, especially old ones, paintings, music, posters, it’s all a question of what I feel and what I see, and the ideas come from that. When I have an idea, that’s when I can put everything into action in my direction.
When I do photography, there are really a lot of stages, I spend a lot of time on my photos because my aim is not just to make something cool but to tell a story that people can listen to even if the photo doesn’t speak, but that’s what I want.
I do a lot of collage, a lot of superimpositions, I use a lot of colorimetry filters during the studio shots, my goal is the experience I want the people who look at my photos to live an experience, I also do a lot of post-production behind it! really a lot of hours! To achieve the desired result. I do so many things, I don’t even think I could go into detail here! Haha
But the most important thing to know about my work is that photography is an experience for me. I like to tell stories with color, which gives the images a deeper dimension.
I consider my work much more as an artistic work than as a simple representation of someone or something. Most of my photographic work exudes a particular and special energy, because my artistic approach to photography is much deeper than you might imagine.
I like the viewer to be able to travel through an image and feel what the artist has wanted to convey. My aim is to create a visual experience, to tell stories through color, to create a mirror that can give others the opportunity to be in another dimension of reflection.
Can you also tell me about your artistic concept of creation?
Bodi: Identity is an artistic concept created by me, representing the freedom to create. It’s about expressing one’s creative vision as freely as possible, without any preconceived criteria, in order to fully express one’s own identity. The artist does not have to justify or explain his creation, for it is the fruit of his imagination.
The work speaks for itself. For me, artistic identity is something that has a beginning but no end. A world where there are no boxes, a world where you feel free, a world where you can do what you want, be who you want.
What do I mean by that? From childhood to adulthood, we’re taught to do everything: eat, run, walk, talk, write and so on. All these things we’re taught enable us to become the people we’ll become later on. But the only question I’ve ever asked myself is whether becoming that person was always what I wanted, or what people wanted me to be.
Identity and artistic identity are an exploration, an empty room, an empty world where you have to rebuild everything in your own image. When I talk about an empty room, I’m talking about a world that’s ready to be rebuilt.
But a conditioned identity is an identity constructed by others, not by you. Reconstructing one’s identity means first deconstructing it, then exploring and exploiting it in one’s own way. This artistic concept highlights my artistic exploration of the deconstruction and reconstruction of my identity. Awakening.
What motivates and inspires you?
Bodi: I’ve always wanted to bring a new perception to the way people see an identity in general and bring a new one to the art world according to my vision.
Every day, when I wake up, I don’t forget this goal, it’s one of my main motivations, not forgetting all the things I had to overcome to get where I am today, it’s also a motivation, because every time I think about it, it reminds me how much I have to fight for what I am!
The person who inspires me and will continue to inspire me is my mother!
How di you deal with creative blocks?
Bodi: I like creative blocks because sometimes it’s a way of expressing something. You can turn your block into the subject of art, which means that the block doesn’t really exist, it’s all in your head.
For me, every moment is a way of making art. Pain, blockage and all these situations always hide something great!
How would you describe a perfect day?
Bodi: A perfect day for me is : I wake up at 6 a.m., work out, then eat. And after all that, at 10 or 11 a.m., I go to the studio to create some work. Sometimes I can stay a very long time, sometimes not, and in the evening I see friends! And then the day that follows is another haha Sometimes it depends, I can only do art, I’m really addicted to creating.
Anybody you look up to?
Bodi: My mother again, yes I’m such a fan!
Alright Bodi. I always ask these two questions at the end of an interview. The first is. What’s your favorite movie(s) and why?
Bodi: My favourite film is THE CROW with Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee’s son. I love everything about this film, the way it’s filmed, the scenes, the shots are really crazy!
But above all the message. This film shows how pain can be destructive or constructive through our actions and words. It shows that pain is a cruel lesson, because hurting others often leads to an atrocious end. To conclude, I would say: let’s love one another! Love is essential!
The second is. What song(s) are you currently listening to the most right now?
Bodi: At the moment I’m listening to a lot of TROUBLES! Unfortunately I can’t say anything about the artist, but you’ll understand why I didn’t say anything!