White Ebony

Just as the ‘black continent’ is nothing like as monochrome as our stereotyped ideas of it, so neither are the skin tones of its inhabitants. One variant, however, here more than elsewhere, marks people out as misfits: very white skin, unusually light hair color, blue or green eyes. This congenital metabolic disease is called albinism. People with albinism (PWA) are often visually impaired and need special protection from the sun. Most of all they suffer from social stigmatization. So it is little short of a miracle how courageously and confidently that the PWA of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, try to overcome their role as outsiders. Lead by the famous Congolese albino wrestler, Mwimba Texas, they demand to be treated with respect. In her photographs Patricia Willocq helps boost the self-assurance of people with albinism in the Congo. Her photo report is a testimony to hope, courage, love and success to give them the dignity they deserve.

Text in English, French and German.

Contents:
Photographic Essay; About albinism; The Dibwe family; Mwimba Texas; Gaëlle Kayowa Mukadi; Michel Mualaba Senga; Social Project.

List of events surrounding publication:
3 June 2015: press conference in Brussels to launch the book and to announce the opening of the photo exhibition and the First International Albinism Awareness Day
13 June (to 27 July 2015): opening of the exhibition “White Ebony” at the Halles St Gery in Brussels to celebrate the first International Albinism Awareness Day
02 July 2015: Projection of a movie about Mwimba Texas, the famous wrestler with albinism and albinism in DRC
13 July 2015: Concert with the Congolese artist Freddy Massamba engaged in the cause of albinism
09 – 30 October 2015: Exhibition “White Ebony” at the Maison de la Laïcité in La Louvière, Belgium
13 November to 11 December 2015: Exhibition “White Ebony” at la Maison du Hainaut, Charleroi