When one is forced to leave their homeland behind, bearing the imposed designation of 'migrant,' whilst carrying cherished memories of home on their back throughout the rest of their lives. What aspects of themselves are tucked in and do they get to preserve? Whereas, what parts must they abandon due to displacement? This is what Congolese-Canadian multi-disciplinary artist Rose Katembo is seeking to unfold in her latest exhibition ‘Interlude’ presented during the 43 International Festival Arts Films (FIFA 2025) at Usine C in Montréal.
Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during a period of war, Rose Katembo spent early years of her childhood in Tanzanian refugee camps before permanently relocating to Montréal, Canada at 8 years of age. Sitting with an impressive amount of 4 different languages; namely French, English, Swahili and Lingala, thus making her a quadrilingual, Rose naturally gravitated towards languages through art. With a focus on the intersection of language and identity, a personal journey she had to endure after her final destination to London without the safety net of her beloved family.
The title ‘Interlude’ originates from the Latin word interludum. Inter meaning ‘between’ and lude which means to ‘play.’ A parallel can be drawn to Rose’ own life transition, having to redefine herself with the French and English language once she settled in Montreal’s suburbs, while keeping Lingala and Swahili strictly spoken at home with her family. This intricate dance of code-switch prolonged even further, as her first independent voyage to London city meant she could no longer exercise a part of her identity; the Congolese languages she had brought with her when she flew to Canada as a child. It was until she had met a pair who spoke Lingala, her mother’s tongue, a sense of home was extended in this new environment. To live in-between as a migrant is something Rose is not unfamiliar with; however, understanding the loneliness from giving up fragments of oneself to gain a new adventure was perhaps a challenge she had long forgotten and therefore, needed to experience anew living in a different city. At the foot of it, this is how the idea of an exhibition took shape.
Through the distinctive narratives of four African women—originally five—namely Esperance (Lingala to French), Zam Zam Warsame (Somali to English), Nasir (Swahili to English), and Neema (Kinyarwanda to English), whom Rose invited to explore their sense of self through their linguistic identities, a compelling visual narrative emerged. Analyzing the minutiae of language shifting and code-switching reveals the complexity of multifaceted identities. Similar to the artist herself, these women traversed continents, most carrying nothing but their native languages and childhood memories across oceans. In the video installations, dispersed throughout darkened spaces, each woman articulates her self-perception through poetry, ultimately integrating her dual linguistic personas into a unified whole.
It goes without mention that the exhibition also featured a mask of one particular exhibited woman with her own face titled ‘Na Leli’, an artwork paying empathizes with the literal transformation of identity or visage, suggesting a complete metamorphosis into another being. This is a shameless reference from the Congolese-Belgian artist Baloji, who never shied away from extravagance and masquerades. Another peculiar object presented was a silver container interpreted as a family album. The box; however, rather than containing any family photographs and souvenirs, Rose describes its contents as; “residual traces” of the languages spoken by the African women displayed. This powerful metaphor implies how through forced displacement, one often only carries their native tongue with them, and through the process, what may remain as a result are fragments of a language once primarily spoken. This highlights the profound impact of migration on linguistic identity.
Rose Katembo’s solo exhibition not only displays the importance of language within the web of one's identity, but also, unveils how it can be used to unify or isolate communities. It brings up crucial questions such as what truly makes an individual's identity? And as the world is becoming more and more multicultural due to globalization, how much weight does preservation truly hold, if any? Perhaps a lesson we may take away from ‘Interlude’ is we all want to belong, just as this personal journey of Rose began with her search for belonging, it is in our human nature to seek a space where one is recognized for the fragments of one's past as much as the inevitable force of change and whom one is ultimately becoming.
