Délio Jasse (b. 1980, Luanda, Angola) is a visual artist who lives and works in Milan, Italy. His practice often interweaves found images with clues from past lives, such as passport photos, family albums and other archives, to draw links between photography, in particular the concept of the ‘latent image’ and memory. While known for experimenting with traditional analogue photographic printing processes, Jasse also develops his own printing techniques. His work often incorporates analogue processes to subvert the reproducibility of the photographic medium, creating subtle variants and interventions using painting, liquid-light, gold-leafing and collage.
J’ai le devoir de mémoire (I Have a Duty to Remember), 2019
J’ai le devoir de mémoire is a series of silk-screen prints that offers an experiential and personal exploration of a set of archival documents testifying to colonial history. The title, which translates to “I Have a Duty to Remember”, is derived from imagery that Jasse collected during his 2019 residence in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The works contain both archival photographs and text fragments that echo Belgium’s involvement in the Congo from 1908 to 1960. The stamps, words, numbers and images added to the original archival material refer to elements of that history, and how authorities grant permission to people’s existence by means of “official” documents. This project was shown for the first time within the context of the 2019 edition of the Lubumbashi Biennale.
Images:
An installation photo of Délio Jasse’s J’ai le devoir de mémoire (I Have a Duty to Remember) (2019).
Photo: MOMENTUM. Courtesy of the practicioner.
An installation photo of Délio Jasse’s J’ai le devoir de mémoire (I Have a Duty to Remember) (2019).
Photo: MOMENTUM. Courtesy of the practicioner.
