Between Worlds: Exploring Identity, Memory, and Cultural Representation
In this project, Michel Kambi explores how identity, memory, and cultural narratives can take tangible form. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and raised in Belgium, Kambi draws from the experience of living between different cultural contexts. Through conversations with young people from the African diaspora, including members of the Umoja African student association in Ghent and La Réunion des Jeunes Belgo-Congolais in Brussels, he collects personal stories, experiences, and perspectives.
These conversations form the basis for an archive book and three objects: a carpet, a cap, and a stool. Each object translates a different aspect of living between contexts. The carpet represents rootedness, heritage, and cultural transmission. The cap explores recognition, representation, and perception. The stool embodies balance: the continuous search for a position between different worlds.
Together, the objects create a personal and collective reflection on heritage, identity, and community. Rather than offering a definitive answer, the project creates space for dialogue and for the freedom to define oneself.
