Kabeya Ilunga - Crow of continuity - XXL

Title : Crown of continuity
Medium : charcoal and acrylics on paper(350gsm)
Year :2025
Size : 120x 89cm
Hand Signed by the artist

In Crown of Continuity, the African woman is both guardian and sovereign of memory. Her Ovimbundu-
inspired hairstyle rises as a symbolic crown, representing dignity, lineage, and the silent language of

belonging. This portrait honors the unbroken thread connecting African women across generations,
carrying gestures, symbols, and beauty practices that keep their soul alive. She embodies all African and
Afro-descendant women, symbolizing resilience, pride, and the sacred responsibility of transmission.
Crown of Continuity is a homage to the lineage of African femininity, where existence itself is an act of
resistance and light.

Kabeya Ilunga (born in 2003 in Goma, DR Congo) is a self-taught artist whose work blends hyperrealism and Afro-descendant heritage. Marked by a past of conflict and exile, he returned to art in 2023 from a refugee camp in Uganda.

This return gave rise to afrocentrik , a series of fifteen portraits exploring Black pride, traditions, and African memory. His powerful compositions, laden with symbolism, tell intimate stories and collective identity through gazes, scarification, and textile patterns. Kabeya combines technical finesse and a committed voice to question and celebrate African identity.

Exhibited in East Africa, notably at Makerere Art Gallery, Kiggundu Art Studio, and Afropocene (The Capsule), he also integrates social causes into his practice.

In 2025, Kabeya participated in the global initiative Young Leaders for Arts and Health, organized by ylah.org in partnership with the Global Art in Medicine Fellowship and the Commonwealth Leadership Institute (Kampala Summit), which connected young people across major cities worldwide around the intersections of art, health, and leadership. In October 2025, he will exhibit at the Global Village Berlin with Bella Art Gallery, expanding his artistic presence onto the international stage.
Currently based in Kampala, he aspires to include his work in contemporary global artistic dialogues.

A R T I S T I C S T A T E M E N T

I define my practice as Afrocentric, rooted in the richness, beauty, and sacredness of African cultures. Born and
raised in Goma, a city shaped by the intersection of many traditions, I developed a keen awareness of identity, beauty, and collective memory. My art places the African figure at the center, not as an object of
representation, but as a vehicle of power, grace, and cultural depth.

Since 2023, after a transformative period at the Nakivale refugee camp in Uganda, my work has evolved into a visual manifesto. Living among Sudanese, Somali, Ethiopian, and Ugandan communities, I have witnessed
firsthand the power of oral narratives, the dignity of rituals, and the quiet beauty of everyday life. These
experiences now inform my portraits, which redefine and celebrate the greatness of African peoples.

My Afrocentrik series exemplifies this approach: fifteen portraits that blend hyperrealism, ancestral
symbols, ritual ornaments, and geometric abstraction. Each face I draw is not a mere likeness: it is an act of
restoration, an archive of pride, and a mirror of spiritual endurance. Through charcoal, graphite, pastels,
acrylic, and oil, I highlight the dignity of scars, the wisdom of the gaze, the beauty of the skin, and the soul
of silence.

Blending technique and narrative, I aim to create a space where African beauty is not exoticized but
venerated, where each portrait becomes a living testimony affirming identity, exalting memory, and
transmitting a legacy. My work aims not only to honor the past but also to place African stories at the heart
of contemporary art, where they belong.

Education & Training

2013- today : Self-taught, 12 years of drawing and painting practice
2024-2025 : Artistic Development ,Kiggundu Art Studio, Kampala, Uganda
2022 – Diploma in Literature, Goma, DRC
2013 - Artistic initiation UJADP ERICA ,Goma, DRC

Gallery Representation
SINCE 2024 – Bella art gallery, Berlin , GERMANY

Expression | Group exhibition
Markerere university art gallery
march 2025

Blossom | Group exhibition
Njabala foundation
march 2025

Metamorphosis | Duo exhibition
January 2025
Kiggundu art studio | UG

Group exhibition
Droop canvas
february 2025

Group exhibition | The capsule
Yujo Izakaya | UG
Young leaders for arts and health
Kampala Summit | by ylah org & art in
Medecine fellowship
august 2025

Kampala Summit
Exhibitions

Resilience in exile group show
october 2025
Bella art gallery, Berlin, Germany

Upcoming Exhibitions

Kizamani kisasa group show
September 2025
Nafasi space, Dar es salam Tanzania

Publications & Press
2025 – Young artists showcase growth at
metamorphosis exhibition | Nile post Uganda
March 2025 - Un pont entre les cultures In
collaboration with Oguiri guiri | Gala
Magazine,n1656, France
Collaborations
March 2025 - Afro symbolysm collection in
cultures In collaboration with Oguiri guiri by
africa pop culture&art | Oguiri guiri ,FRANCE



IMPORTANT NOTICE : Due to the volume of packages, transport companies require us to inspect the delivery both externally and internally by taking photos. Please sign the delivery note only if the painting is in perfect condition; if not, specify the damage observed. This is the only way transport companies will cover any damages incurred during transit.
Failure to perform this verification and inspection means the transport company won't be held responsible for any issues upon arrival, and neither I nor Catawiki can be held accountable. No claims or returns can be processed in such cases. Thank you.