Kriss Munsya
Kriss Munsya is a self taught photographer with a Master’s in Graphic Design from the Republic of Congo. He earned his place as a Finalist in the 3rd Edition of the Boynes Emerging Artist Award.
What inspired you to begin creating your work?
My family and I immigrated to Belgium when I was a toddler. Growing up in that predominantly white environment, I was confronted with racialized violence regularly. It seemed everybody around me had normalized it. I did! It felt necessary to my survival. In adulthood, I have been reflecting on my experiences. My photography is how I interrogate the existence of supremacy in my sense of being and in the world at large as I have always been drawn to seeing and reimagining the world around me through art. My first camera was my father’s. He gave it to me as a teenager. It wasn’t until later in life that I appreciated this gift for what it was: a way to make sense of my surroundings. Photography makes the existence of what’s represented in the images undeniable. I find people are more receptive to being shown than being told. It feels like more of an open invitation to be shown.
Pasamos //Highway Reflections //THE ERASER (2020) (Finalist Work)
By Kriss Munsya
Photography
What inspires your current work?
My 2020 series “The Eraser” was inspired by the idea of reimagining the past to guide the future. For this series, I drew on different films and music that grapple with revisiting and reshaping memories. From “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” to “Darkside of the Moon”, I cannot understate the importance of film and music (respectively) in my work. They are present in how I envision, create, and even name the images.
Shimmy //Scarlet Ribbons// THE ERASER (2020)
By Kriss Munsya
Photography
What mediums do you work in and experiment with?
I am a multi-media graphic and conceptual artist. I use photography, video, sound, and image software to create stories about the human condition. I specifically focus on the conditions created by supremacy.
Are there any particular brands of art supplies you prefer using (if so why)?
My dream is to use a Hasselblad camera. At the moment, I create my digital images using the Brenizer Method (combining multiple photos of the same image to create richer and more robust images in post-production) and Adobe Photoshop to make my art.
Hands Away//Highway Reflections//THE ERASER (2020)
By Kriss Munsya
Photography
Can you give any piece of advice to your fellow artists on what you have learned while you practiced your craft?
Think about your life relative to others’ and how/why your experiences may differ from theirs. There is a lot to explore in our relationships with ourselves, our communities, and our environments.
How do/did you manage the need for perfection within your work?
As a photographer, there is a lot you can’t control. You can only work with what you have access to. In my work, I work with people. You cannot seek perfection when working with people. You have to establish a relationship and be open to seeing how the model/s translate what you had in your mind into what is co-created.
The Mask //Darkside of the Moon //THE ERASER (2020)
By Kriss Munsya
Photography
How do you process/ come to terms with and even use other people's opinion of your work?
I think it’s interesting to see how people put words to my images. Everybody makes sense of things differently and will take away what they want from what they see. I can’t control what they want to see, I can only offer what I want to see and hope they’ll meet me in it.
Mirror Mirror//Black Mirror //THE ERASER (2020)
By Kriss Munsya
Photography
Is there an artist/s who inspires you creatively?
The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo) have always inspired me. Not visually or musically - even though I loooove their music - but because they succeed in creating their own sound as a means to navigate the world with them. We’ve never heard anything like the Neptunes before, and we never will hear something like it again.