‘Decolonization. Apostasy - Joëlle Sambi Nzeba’

Written in 1902, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness has been interpreted as a political book denouncing the imperialism of Leopold II, and as a revelator of the odious lie of the humanitarian propaganda used to cover the violence of the colonial enterprise. While some describe Conrad as an imperialist, others describe him as an anti-colonial critic. The question remains open. Joëlle Sambi Nzeba wants to look into Conrad's language and how he traps words (and perhaps thoughts?) and make us doubt of the effectivness of his project… The performance Decolonization. Apostasy will be cut in two halves: the first part will show the result of a two-day writing / performance re-reading workshop carried out during the ERG seminar and the second half will be a declamation by Joëlle Sambi Nzeba herself.

Born in Belgium, Joëlle Sambi Nzeba spent part of her childhood in Kinshasa before returning to Brussels where she now lives and works. Alongside her professional activities which are carried out within the context of a feminist movement, she is a writer. She graduated from the Université Libre de Bruxelles with a degree in information and communication (journalism) and is the author of several prize-winning works of fiction (Je ne sais pas rêver, 2002 and Le monde est gueule de chèvre, 2007). Through her activism (Merhaba, Festival Massimadi Bruxelles) and writing, Joëlle Sambi Nzeba tries to question situations of powerlessness. She gets people talking about identity, the norm and belonging.