Roulette Généalogique
Antalya Jaël
Anyone searching for their origins embarks on an in-depth investigation into their family history in order to arrive at a certain truth. Antalya Jaël began this quest by asking about her cousin, who inherited her father’s blue eyes. She wondered about the reasons for this colouring. By looking into genetics and the study of heredity, she discovered that her aunt’s “Mb” DNA contained a recessive allele called “b” for blue eyes, which crossed with another homozygous “bb” allele from her father to produce a combination of 50% brown eyes and 50% blue eyes.
This uncertain discovery of the existence of an ancestor of Arab-Swahili origin was represented in the form of a genealogical roulette wheel, a metaphor for a poker game. This roulette wheel gradually reveals the names of family members up to the fourth generation.
Antalya has also created a video featuring a pictorial carpet representing the solar system, symbolising both Antalya herself and the various planets and objects that surround her, representing the world in which she lives. Her fascination with science stems from her studies in mathematics and physics in the humanities.
Antalya Jaël was born in 2000 in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). She is a photographer and is currently studying photography at the Kinshasa Academy of Fine Arts. She has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics.
Her photographic work revolves around the “wonders of the Democratic Republic of Congo”, which she brings to life through a positive, sympathetic approach to landscapes and poetic portraits in the bright colours that are her trademark. In her recent work, she has also explored the field of abstract photography and how it can be transposed to the specificities of the African continent. Convinced of the enormous potential of the DRC, particularly in human and natural terms, and of the essential role of the younger Congolese generations in making the most of it, Antalya Jaël’s images highlight the beauty, freshness, emotion and particularities of Congolese reality.
Her work has been presented at the Lubumbashi Biennial Toxicity (2022), the Saint-Etienne International Design Biennial “Congo Connecting” (2022), Eindhoven (Netherlands) by the Pennings Foundation “8th Art Expo” (2021), among others, Kinshasa (DRC) by Playvoice Production “Explore, Photographie ton essentiel pour demain” (2021), Arles (France) by the Institut Français du Design and Les Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles “Mizikin Art Festival” (2019) & “À travers nos yeux” (2018).